Issues
by M. Beth Tora
Summary: Rose never thought she would find someone who was both high and drunk. She never thought she’d ever have to escort someone in that condition home. She also didn’t think she’d ever get attached to them. But these things did happen. COMPLETE!
1. The Beginning

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Rose never thought she would find someone who was both high and drunk. She never thought she'd ever have to escort someone in that condition home. She also didn't think she'd ever get attached to them. But these things did happen, and two out of three of them happened in one night. She had found a young man sitting on the side walk, looking very tired, very relaxed, and very drunk. She had half a mind to just leave him there, but she had a feeling that if she didn't take him home; he would end up spending the night here.

"Hey, do you need help getting home?" she asked kneeling down to the young man. When he looked at her, he looked like the living dead. His eyes had no light in them, he had bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess and he looked like he wanted to be left alone. He looked at her and seemed to be thinking- or at least trying too.

"Yeah… I do need help getting home. The part of my brain that _is _working right now is telling me that being here is a bad idea," he said, sounding gruff but really tired. Rose smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and helped him up. She held him up by wrapping her arm around his waist so he wouldn't fall.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing out so late?" the young man slurred. Well, she was originally going to get groceries, but obviously that wasn't happening.

"I just felt like going on a walk. I'd like to know why you are drunk and high and sitting on the sidewalk," she said as they began to walk.

"I'm happier this way… Besides, I've been in worse situations," he said before yawning. The yawn was then followed by vomiting; luckily Rose managed to avoid his sick.

"Dinking away your problems isn't the smartest thing to do, you know," she said, stepping over the mess.

"Again, I've done worse things. I've had sex with strangers, I've done tons of drugs, I've starved myself, you name it, I've probably done it," he said.

Rose continued to walk and talk with this stranger; often times he would tell her where she needed to go, but more often than not he kept asking where they were. But finally they managed to get to his apartment. The man gave her the key, instructing her to unlock the door. Once inside, she guided him to what was assumed to be the bedroom.

"So… what's your name…?" he asked as he lied down on the bed.

"Rose. What's yours?" she responded.

"Mello. There is a spare key on the counter next to the front door… take it. You can come back any time," he said before passing out. Rose sighed before going to the counter in question and saw a silver key. She put the key onto her ring with a bit of trouble and then left. She figured she would come back tomorrow to see how Mello was doing.


	2. The First Date

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 2: The First Date

The next day, Rose went back to the apartment with a bag of ingredients for food. When she entered, she realized what a dump the apartment was. She figured that maybe she could fix it; that is if they became friends. She made a mental note for that before going into the kitchen and starting to prepare breakfast. It took much longer than it should have, but it was mainly because she had to keep looking for things that were hidden in the dump that was Mello's apartment. But after a little while, the food was prepared. It wasn't until Rose started the coffee, however, that Mello actually woke up.

"I smell food and I don't know where it's coming from…" the young woman heard from the bedroom.

"It's coming from the kitchen. You better get up if you want to eat it," Rose called to him. It wasn't ten minuets before the blond emerged into the kitchen; cocooned in a blanket. Rose smiled and set the plate of food down on the table. When Mello sat down, he stared at the food as if not knowing what it was.

"Are you going to eat or did I put that hour and a half to waste?" the young woman said as she began cleaning up the mess she made.

"I haven't had a real meal since I was a little kid… I just don't know if I can eat all this," Mello said as he grabbed the fork that was placed next to his plate.

"Well, eat what you can and we'll put the rest in the fridge for later," Rose said as she began to wash the dishes.

"Do I know you?" he asked as he looked up at her.

"We just met last night. You were wasted and probably high. I took you home and you gave me a house key and told me I could come back anytime I wanted. So I figured I'd come over, visit you and make breakfast for you," she said as she scrubbed a greasy frying pan. Mello sat back, looking as though he was trying to remember any of what he was just told.

"You probably told me last night, but I can't remember to save my life. What's your name?" he asked as he picked up a strip of bacon and took a bite out of it.

"It's Rose. And you're Mello," the young woman said as she finally finished scrubbing that pan. The blond looked up at the sound of dishes.

"You don't have to do that. I never wash my dishes, I just get paper plates and stuff," he said before finishing off the bacon.

"Well, if you don't do them then you can't re-use them. What would be the point of having re-useable dishes if you're only going to use them once?" Rose said before making a face at a particularly moldy and smelly dish. Mello noticed this expression and burst out laughing.

"_That_ is why I don't do the dishes," he said nodding towards the plate in question. The young woman went over to the bag where all her things were and pulled out pink rubber gloves. She then took a deep breath before holding it and grabbing the moldy plate.

"If you are able to clean that and not barf, you will be my hero," Mello said, covering his nose with his blanket when Rose passed with the plate. She stuck her tongue out at him before dousing the plate into the soapy water. She then grabbed a sponge and began scrubbing. It was about 15 minuets before she pulled the plate out of the water.

"Wow… it's clean…" Mello said looking over Rose's shoulder before sniffing the plate. "And it smells clean. You are officially my hero." With that, the blond went back to his room. Rose spent about two hours on the rest of the plates, none of which were scarier than what she tackled before. Once all was said and done, the dishes were put away and the kitchen looked much cleaner.

"Well, I'll be… You ever think of being a cleaning lady?" Mello said coming back into the kitchen, now clad in leather.

"No, but I have thought of being an interior decorator," Rose said as she went over to Mello with a smile.

"How about I take you out to lunch or dinner or something? You know, to say 'thanks' for cleaning my kitchen," he said throwing an arm around the young woman's shoulders.

"If you're paying, sure. If we're going Dutch, I'll think about it," she said with a grin. She then heard a phone ring. Mello quickly went over to the sound (having to dig through the crap in his living room) and answering the phone.

"Yeah? … Alright, I'll be there in ten," he said before hanging up. "I don't think you want to stay here while I go to work; there really isn't anything to do here. If you leave your number I'll call you and we can arrange our date." Rose was shocked by the word "date". She nodded as she watch Mello grab a jacket and a helmet before leaving.

After that, Rose went home and decided to sit outside in her garden. One of the few things she liked about her grandmother dying was that she left Rose with a large white house and a beautiful garden. She sat snuggled in her favorite hanging chair when she heard her phone ring.

"Hello?" she answered as if in a dreamy state.

"Rose? It's Mello," a male voice came from the receiver. Rose made no real movement to indicate her surprise; she was too cozy to sit up.

"Well, hello Mello. Are you finished with 'work'?" she said before sipping some cocoa. She set down the mug only to have a white butterfly land on the rim.

"Not yet. But I'll be free around 8 or 10; do you still want to go to dinner with me?" Mello said, sounding a little… colder than he did that morning.

"So long as you pay for it," she said before blowing both the steam and the butterfly away from her mug.

"Alright, I need your address to pick you up," he said before the sound of jeering came from the background. Rose rolled her eyes before giving him the address. After that, she continued to sit in her garden. Without even realizing it, she fell asleep curled up in her cozy hanging chair, bathed in the sun's warmth.

Rose awoke to find the sun setting and a butterfly on her nose. She looked around and found her "companion" sitting next to her on the ground and looking at the view.

"Have you been here long, Mello?" she asked, causing the butterfly to flutter off. The blond shook his head and continued to stare. Rose followed his gaze to see the creek her mother had built.

"Isn't it lovely here? It's my own little get-away," she said softly.

"I'm envious. You have a beautiful house and a beautiful garden; all to yourself no less. You're living in paradise while I'm living in my shitty excuse for an apartment," Mello said before raising a bottle of water to his lips and taking a sip.

"Well, I inherited all this. My grandmother always thought that I was more deserving of somewhere beautiful because of how loving and caring I am," She said as she got up and took her now cold cocoa to dump into one of the flowerbeds.

"I wonder what would happen if you gave flowers alcohol?" Mello asked as he got up and met up with Rose.

"They'd die. My mother did it all the time," she said taking Mello's hand and guiding him into the house.

After a few minuets of Rose changing her clothes, the two went out to the front where a motorcycle stood.

"My friend has my car right now, so we're going to need to ride on this," Mello said as he put on his helmet and handed the young woman one. She looked at it before taking it and putting it on her head. The blond had already gotten on the bike and was waiting for his companion to join him.

"I've never been on a motorcycle before…" she said with a worried tone.

"You don't need to worry; I may be a reckless driver, but I'm good at it. You're not gonna get hurt," Mello said holding out a gloved hand. Rose cautiously took it and sat behind him.

"Hold onto me, otherwise you'll fall off," she was instructed. The second her arms were wrapped around Mello's waist the engine was revved and the two were off.

About 20 minuets later, the motorcycle pulled up to a nice restaurant. Rose practically jumped off and collapsed on the ground.

"LAND!!" she cried out with exhaustion. Mello laughed at her.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't that bad," he said as he took off his helmet and holding out his hand for Rose.

"You almost got hit by, like, ten cars!" Rose panted out as she yanked the helmet off her head.

"Hey, six out of ten of them cut me off. The other four were just being jerks," he said as he took her helmet and put them underneath the passenger seat.

Once they got inside; they were greeted and seated quickly. They were taken care of very well, getting their drinks and orders taken quickly.

"I've never been to a place that goes so quickly. Most of the time I have to wait several minuets before I get anything done," Rose said as she folder her hands and rested her chin on top.

"Yeah, the people here are pretty fast. They figure that the faster they move, the more satisfied the guest will be," Mello said absentmindedly. They were both quiet, sort of an awkward silence.

"So is this considered a date or just an outing?" Rose asked as she looked at Mello. He looked back at her with his dead stare.

"Think of it as you will. We're eating, we're together, assume what you will," he said as the food arrived. Okay, not quite the answer she wanted, but it would do.

"So what is your 'work' anyway?" Rose asked as she took a bite of her food.

"It's best if you don't know. At least not right now," Mello said. The rest of the time they only chatted as they ate. They were soon finished, paid and out.

"I'm gonna drop you off at home, I don't want you walking alone in the dark," Mello said as they got on the bike.

It wasn't long before they reached the young woman's house. Rose still wasn't quite… used to being on the motorcycle.

"Don't worry, gradually it gets better," the blond said as she got off the bike.

"Really?" she asked with hope.

"No, not really," Mello teased before having his shoulder smacked. Rose sighed before removing the young man's helmet.

"Thank you for dinner. We should do it again some time," she said before giving a quick kiss on the cheek and putting the helmet back on his head.

"Yeah, well, I can't do it again any time soon. I'll see you later," he said before ruffling Rose's hair and driving off. The young woman sighed before going back into her house.


	3. Making Over an Apartment

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 3: Making Over an Apartment

The next day, Rose went back to Mello's place. She unlocked the door and let herself in. She then noticed female clothes scattered about the apartment and the smell of food cooking. She walked into the kitchen to find a rather unattractive woman cooking eggs. She said nothing before turning on a heel and walking out of the apartment. If someone else was taking care of Mello, she didn't really need to be there. So instead of cooking or going back home, she decided to go to the park. She sat for about an hour before her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Why aren't you here?" she heard Mello's voice through the receiver, sounding rather peeved.

"One, someone else was there doing what I normally do. And two, how the heck did you get my cell phone number?" she said flatly.

"Yeah, I kicked her out and threw away those eggs; they were burnt," Mello said sounding slightly irritated.

"So are you only eating my cooking now or something?" Rose asked as she got up from the bench she was sitting on and beginning to walk towards Mello's place.

"You're the only person I know who can cook," he said as if it was the most obvious thing on earth.

"I'll be there in about 15 minuets," Rose said before hanging up. Just as she thought, she was unlocking the door to Mello's apartment in 15 minuets.

She walked into the kitchen to find the blond sitting there in his leather outfit and a very bored and tired expression.

"So what do you wanna eat?" she asked as she took off her coat.

"Bacon and waffles," Mello said as he played with his fork. Rose quickly got to work on the food requested.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"I didn't sleep much. I was busy," he responded flatly.

"Who was that girl?" Rose inquired further.

"Some chick from work; I didn't wanna sleep alone last night so I picked her up and took her home," Mello said resting his head against the table. Rose made no response as she finished up the food and put it on a plate. She then sat down in front of him and watched him eat.

"I'm thinking about redecorating this apartment; it has too much negative energy," she said after a long pause.

"I don't have the cash to redecorate," Mello sat before taking a bite of bacon.

"You wouldn't be paying for it; I would," Rose said as she rested her head on the table. The blond looked at her for a little while.

"Do you have any idea how much time, energy and money it would take to redo this dump?" he said flatly.

"It's worth it. You are a bachelor, and this is one crappy bachelor pad. If you wanna impress who ever you're after, then you need this place totally redone; the furniture, the walls, the floors, everything. I inherited a bunch of money that I'm not using. I'll just use it to redo this place," Rose explained.

After breakfast, Mello went off to work and Rose began making a list of things that she needed. As soon as she was done, she made some phone calls to some friends. In about 20 minuets, more girls got to the apartment.

"What a wreck. Obviously this place hasn't been taken care of," one of the girls said with a disgusted expression.

"That is why you all are here. We are going to give this place a make over. But I need your help. We are going to get rid of all the furniture, paint the walls, replace the carpeting and make this dump into an epic bachelor pad," Rose said sternly.

"Emily, you are in charge of removing the wall paper and get rid of the blinds and what curtains there are. Julia, you are going to tear up the carpeting and the tiles in the kitchen. Amy, Maria and Sage, you two are going to help me get rid of all the furniture and appliances. I will also make measurements of each window so that way we can get everything in the right size. Once that is done, we are going shopping for new carpets, paint, rugs, and everything else. Remember, this is for a guy- we need to make sure that this place looks good," Rose instructed to each girl. They all saluted before getting ready for their task.

About four hours later, the apartment was bare and empty. Quickly the girls mopped up what grossness was on the floor and dusted away all the cobs webs before heading out. Rose quickly put up a sign that said "Mello- go out and do stuff for a while. We are redoing this place and we want it to be a surprise!" After that they stopped by Rose's house and picked up the money, credit cards and debit cards before heading over to the first place; Home Depot.

"So what's the theme for this bachelor pad, anyway?" Sage asked as they looked at the paint.

"Well, he's kind of dark and a bad boy sort of guy. So I was thinking of painting the walls dark red and get a stick on boarder of some kind. Then the carpets would either be off black or maroon," Rose said as she looked at the color cards.

"So kind of like the modern day vampire sort of thing?" Amy asked.

"Sort of; we want it too look both romantic and alluring," Rose explained before finding the color she wanted. She went over to the paint cans and looked to see if they had the color.

"Huh… looks like we need to make the color," she said before going over to the employee who was in charge of mixing paint. "Can you create this color for us?" the person nodded before going to work.

"To the carpets!" Emily chirped before they headed over to where the samples were. They quickly spotted what they wanted. They called another employee and told them what they wanted and where to install it. They then headed over to the blinds and curtains.

"So what do you want for the curtains? I don't think we want too much black or red," Julia said as she looked at the curtains.

"I think either a cream color or a mint green," Rose said as she admired the blinds.

"Why not get cream colored blinds and mint green curtains? Then you can get both!" Sage said as if it were the best idea in the world.

"Good idea. Let's do that," Rose said as they picked out both the curtains and the blinds in the sizes needed before heading back to the paint. They picked up the color before picking out other colors for the other rooms.

"Now we need the tiles, the boarders and some covering for the floor so we don't spill paint," Julia said.

After getting everything when it came to decorating, they headed back to the apartment. They found a note next to the one Rose left. It read, "This will probably take a while, I'm gonna rent a hotel room for a while and let you do your thing." They then entered and after laying down the covering began painting the living room. "This is going to look really nice, Rose. The owner of this apartment is going to love it," Sage said.

"I hope so. The negative energy was really bad. This will definitely clear it out," Rose responded.

"Hey, we should sage the place and do a ceremony to help bring in positive energy!" Julia suggested.

"Sounds good, but let's wait until after we finish painting," Rose said with a smile.

An hour passed and the living room, hallway and bedroom were finished (when it came to painting). They then put the tiles down in the kitchen and the bathroom (which they couldn't stay in for too long because of how badly it smelled). They then took a break to eat lunch.

"This looks really good thus far. Are we going to hang up pictures or something?" Emily asked as she ate her sandwich. Rose thought for a while on what would go on the walls.

"Well, I'm not sure what kinds of pictures or paintings we'd put up. But the owner is Catholic, so I'm thinking that when we get the furniture in, we put a crucifix above the television and another over the bed. We'll figure out later what we'd put up when it comes to pictures later," she said before taking a bite of her own sandwich. After lunch, the girls went out to look at furniture at Jerome's while someone came in and put in the carpeting.

"We should get them a nice couch," Sage said as she looked at one of the couches. Rose looked at the one that she was looking at and smiled. It was black, it was medium sized and it was soft.

"This one is perfect. We'll get this. Let's look for a table, chairs, a desk, a bed, a closet and some drawers," she said before going over to one of the employees and telling them what she wanted. In about 40 minuets, they had found everything they needed (and more) and were heading over to Wal*Mart to get other things.

"So we're getting a TV, a computer, a DVD player, sheets, bedding stuff, pillows, a mattress, a microwave, new towels for the bathroom, dishes, silver wear, glasses, and cleaning stuff," Rose said as she looked at her list.

"Sage, you look for stuff for the bathroom. Amy, look for anything that has to do with the kitchen. Maria, look for anything that goes in the bedroom. Emily, look for cleaning supplies. I'm gonna look for all the technical stuff. Everyone else, uh… pick someone to go with," she instructed. It wasn't long before everything got what they needed and they checked out. When they got back to the apartment, the walls were dry, the carpet was lied out, and the furniture was delivered. The girls got to work putting everything where it needed to be, but before they managed to even get everything out of their boxes- night had fallen.

"We should probably finish up tomorrow. We've already done so much today," Maria said as she looked at her watch. Everyone agree and gathered what they brought and headed out. Just as Rose was locking up, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rose. It's Mello," she heard over the receiver.

"Good evening, Mello," Rose responded gracefully as she leaned against the door.

"How close is my apartment to done? Staying in this hotel is nice, but I'd like to sleep under my own roof," Mello asked before yawning.

"We're almost done. We just need to set up all the new furniture and put up the decor and we'll be done. You should be able to come back to your bachelor pad around noonish; no later than three," she said as she took off the paper that was on the door.

"Can't wait. I'll see you tomorrow," Mello responded before a click was heard, signifying that he hung up.


	4. Withdrawal

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 4: Withdrawal

As Rose had predicted, they were finished with the room before three. The girls left around 2:45 and Mello returned around 2:55.

"Oh. My. God…" the blond gaped as he dropped his helmet on the ground. Rose couldn't help but smile at the astounded expression on Mello's face.

"Is this really my apartment?" he asked as he walked towards Rose, still looking at her handy work.

"No, this is your home," Rose said as she took his hand and led him towards the living room. The first thing the blond noticed was the crucifix hanging above the TV.

"How'd you know I was Catholic?" he asked looking at the young woman.

"You're covered in rosaries. I figured it wasn't just a fashion statement," she said before gesturing towards one side of the room. There was a computer desk that had a computer and the laptop that was originally in its place.

"I didn't look in the laptop; I figured it was private. But now you have a computer desk and a computer to keep everything on," Rose explained as Mello looked at what she had done. He then spotted the couch and jumped onto it.

"YES! Finally a comfy couch!" he laughed out as he cuddled one of the pillows. Rose couldn't help but laugh with him.

"Yeah, that old couch seemed a bit lumpy. But I checked to make sure there wasn't anything in it before I threw it out. Everything I found is in a drawer now," she said, leaning on the couch. Mello got back up and straightened up the couch before looking at the young woman with a smirk.

"Well, it didn't take long and it looks great. How can I repay you?" he asked. Rose looked a bit startled.

"Repay? You don't need to do a single thing for me. I'm just happy to get this place in order. Now who ever visits you will actually feel welcome here," she said as she took Mello's hand and led him into the kitchen.

"See? Now you have a new refrigerator, a new oven, a new microwave, and even a new washing machine! You can now say good bye to those groady moldy plates!" She explained as she opened up the dishwasher and pulled out a sparklingly clean plate.

"Each room you show me gives me more reason to thank you, Rose. There has to be _something_ you want in exchange for all this," Mello said as he took the plate and set it on the counter before leaning next to his friend.

"You're smiling face and the promise that you'll keep this place nice is all I need," the young woman responded as she ducked around Mello, grabbed the plate and opened a cabinet.

"Now there is a place for everything! And everything should go into its place once it's been cleaned," she said as she placed the plate on top of its mates. Before she realized it, Rose was trapped between the counter and Mello.

"Let me get you something, Rose. Or at least let me do something for you. You've put a lot of time and effort into this and I really want to repay you," he said, making it clear that he would not leave her alone until she let him do something for her. Rose thought for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.

"Stay off of drugs and drinking for a month and I'll consider that repayment," she said before sitting on the counter and trying to scoot around Mello.

"Just stop cold turkey?" he asked as he let her pass.

"Yup. When you are able to do it for one month, then you will have repaid me," Rose said as she took his hand and led him to the bathroom.

"I cleaned up in here as well. This was the hardest thing to do because of how badly it smelled at how much I-don't-want-to-know-what was caked in everywhere. The girls and I had a hard time staying conscious while doing it because it smelled so bad," she said as if they had never stopped the tour.

"Are you going to check in on me everyday or something?" Mello asked as they walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.

"Nope. I'm going to trust you to do it all by yourself. You're, what, 20-something now? You're old enough to be able to take care of yourself," she said before sitting on the bed. "Come feel how comfy your bed is now."

"I'm 19. And how do you know that I won't go against my word?" Mello said as he joined her on the bed. He quickly liked the feel of the bed and flopped onto his back.

"I don't know that you'll stay true to it, but I'm just going to have to trust you," Rose said as she lied on her side and began playing with the blonde's hair.

"Isn't there something else I can do for you? Something that doesn't have to do with me changing my daily habits that I've had since I was 14?" Mello asked as he looked up at the young woman.

"Since you were 14? Sir, if this is how you've lived for five years- it's time to change your habits," she said, smacking the blonde's head playfully.

"I can't just stop it cold turkey. I need to ease out of it," Mello responded as he held Rose's hand against his head.

"One month. If you can do it for just one month you can either go back to your old ways or you can try to ease out of it. But I want one month cold turkey," she said as she sat up and moved Mello so his head was on her lap.

"Will you help me at all?" he asked.

"Only if you really need it," the young woman responded. They sat like that for a while before Rose had to leave. Even after they separated, the two didn't say a single word.

A few days passed and Rose hadn't heard from the blond. She bit her lip. Now that her errands were over, she was only fifteen minutes away from Mello's apartment. She could stop by…she glanced at her watch nervously. It was already pretty late. But there was no school tomorrow… She shook her head. She knew full well that she could have gone shopping on the other side of town. She had already been thinking of Mello when she chose to come here. Why try to deceive herself? She wanted to see him. An hour or two wouldn't hurt, she decided. Besides, it would be nice to see his smiling face when there were no drugs or alcohol involved.

Rose was cheerful as she arrived at Mello's apartment, but she frowned slightly when she slipped the key into the lock and discovered that it was already open. Worry pricked at her. Was he all right?

"Mello?" she called quietly as she pushed the door open. Mello answered her, but not in words. She heard his voice just below the threshold of understanding, and then there came an unmistakably female giggle. Rose blinked in confusion as she stumbled across the darkened front room. There was light coming from the hall door. "Mello?" she said again as she peeked around it.

And froze. Mello was there, all right; so was a tall blonde girl in a mini-skirt and a tube top. Mello had her shoved up against the wall with one of her legs around his waist. Her only tiny piece of comfort was that at least Mello's pants were still on.

"Fuck!" Mello's shout broke the horrible tableau. Rose ducked back into the front room as fast as she could, covering her mouth with one hand, her heart pounding. She couldn't speak. Mello was still streaming profanities, and she heard the unknown girl demand, "Who the hell is she?"

Before Rose could make it more than a few steps on her weak knees, Mello appeared in the doorway. His eyes blazed with anger, his expression fierce enough that she immediately cringed back.

"What the fuck are you doing here at this hour?"

"I—I'm sorry!" Rose squeezed her eyes shut to avoid looking at his face. "I—you—you said I could come over anytime! I didn't realize that you'd…" She faltered for a moment as she searched for the right words. "—that you'd have company. I'm sorry!"

"Oh gawd." The blonde girl's voice dripped disgust. She was standing in the hallway behind Mello, watching the two of them with a jaundiced expression as she pulled stiletto heels onto her feet. "This your girlfriend or something?"

"No," said Mello, glaring at Rose coldly. "She's just leaving."

"Yeah? Well so am I," snapped the other girl. Rose opened her eyes to see her shoving past Mello.

"Oh come on," Mello cajoled. "Don't."

"Forget it!" exclaimed the girl. "I ain't gonna sit here and wait while you fight with this bitch." She grabbed a sequined hand purse from the couch and strode to the door. "Peace," she said sarcastically, making a rude gesture. Then she was gone.

Mello glared at Rose again, his expression full of wrath. She hugged herself miserably. She wanted to melt through the floor, to just disappear. She wished with every fiber of her being that she had just gone home.

"Why did you come here?" he demanded, his tone nearly a shout. "Why?"

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed again. "I just wanted to see you—" She broke off, trying to contain the tears that wanted to flow so badly. She had no right to be upset; it wasn't like he was her boyfriend or anything. It wasn't like he had sworn off other women, only alcohol and drugs—

Then it hit her. The way Mello was leaning on the doorframe for support, the way he was swaying ever so slightly. The sense of betrayal that Rose was already feeling increased tenfold.

"You're drunk!" she said accusingly.

Mello's eyes widened for an instant, before his expression hardened. "Yeah, so?"

The urge to cry had become almost overwhelming. "You pr—promised that you wouldn't!" A sob broke through despite her best efforts.

Mello shrugged callously. "Yeah, so? This is what I do. I already told you that. Don't act so damned surprised." Rose clenched her teeth as tears began to flow.

"I trusted you," she whispered.

"Yeah," said Mello flatly. "That was dumb."

The words hit her like a slap across the face. "But I did so much for you!" she exclaimed.

Mello snorted. "And don't you feel like a sucker?"

Despite his cruelty, she had to try one more time. "Are you really having fun being like this?" she demanded.

Mello laughed gaily. "Yeah," he said easily. "This would have been a perfect night, if only you hadn't scared off my lay." His words were so vulgar that Rose felt a little bit sick. She was so upset she could barely see. "I can see that I was wrong about you!"

"Damned right," he agreed. "This is what I am." He gestured at himself. "This. If you don't like it, get out of here."

Rose pulled the key to his house out of her pocket and threw it at his feet. "Fine! I'm leaving!"

"Good," snapped Mello. "Get lost. Don't come back."

Rose sobbed. She spun away from him and ran for the door. She had been so stupid to bother with a guy like Mello! Tomorrow morning she would forget all about him and pretend like this had never happened. Things would be best that way.

Rose didn't know why she stopped at the door. Maybe she just couldn't really believe that it was over. She turned slowly, almost dreading what she would see. She knew that she would have a complete meltdown if Mello was still staring at her and laughing.

What she saw was Mello facing the other direction. He was making his way to the kitchen table unsteadily, using the wall as support. As she watched, he lost his balance and sat down on the floor. She waited for him to get up, but he didn't. Concern prickled at her, even though she had sworn to forget about him. She crept a few steps closer so she could see him around the couch. He sat completely still on the floor, hugging himself. His hair had spilled over his face, hiding his expression, but the slump of his shoulders said it all. Suddenly, like this, he looked so small. Frail and helpless.

Rose knew, then, that she had not been wrong. Mello acted the tough, worldly bad boy, but this was the truth. His shoulders were shaking slightly. Suddenly Rose felt very guilty. He had said that he was an orphan, had said that he had been living this way since fourteen. He had probably never had anybody take care of him at all. He was here because everyone in his life had always walked out on him; and here she had almost gone and done the same. Well, she wasn't going to do that. She knew, much more than most, how much of a difference it could make in a person's life when someone else chose to care. She had been almost in Mello's place, once. She grabbed a blanket from the couch and approached slowly. When she tried to drape it over his shoulders, Mello started.

"What the—" He scrambled away from her, frantically trying to hide the suspicious wetness on his cheeks. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm putting a blanket on you," she answered evenly. "You look cold." She took another step forward, but he scooted back.

"Don't touch me."

"Don't be silly." She held out the blanket again.

Just as it was almost on him, he batted at it furiously, getting his hands entangled in it. "What the hell do you want from me?" he howled.

"I don't want anything from you," she said softly. "Just put on this blanket.

He finally allowed her to rest it on him. As soon as she let go of it, he wrapped himself up in it like a cocoon. He stared at her with wide eyes as she sat down next to him.

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered, his eyes wide. She could feel him shaking where their knees touched.

Rose shook her head. It was almost funny. He swaggered around in head-to-toe leather, speeding around the streets like a bat out of hell on his bike and acting like he was the toughest guy in all of L.A., but he didn't even know how to accept a kind gesture. She patted his shoulder gently, and he flinched. "Because I'm an idiot, apparently," she responded. "According to you." Mello turned away from her.

"I'm sorry I called you an idiot," he said thickly. "But it's what you are, you know, to still be hanging around here after what I did." Rose smiled slightly. The words seemed rough on the surface, but they were probably the kindest ones Mello had spoken in years.

"Thank you," she said. e frowned at her.

"You're…weird. I don't understand you."

"That's okay," she replied. "I'll just stay here for awhile, until you're feeling better.

He frowned cautiously at her, then turned up his nose. "Fine. I guess you can stay."

"Thank you." Rose hid a smile as he searched her face in confusion. When he finished his inspection, he looked away.

"You're going to get frostbite like that, I don't want to deal with a trip to the hospital. You'd better come in here." He lifted the edge of the cover and wrapped it around her shoulders as well. "What a crappy night," he muttered, leaning back against the wall. Their whole left sides were touching. "I didn't even get laid." He slumped sideways, his head falling onto her shoulder."

"I think you'll live," answered Rose. The only response she got was a snore.

Rose closed her eyes for a moment. He needed her. It wasn't going to be easy, not with Mello's crude exterior, but she was determined to help him. Few would be up to the task; that much was obvious by how alone he was—but she was. This was something that she and only she could do.

Her mind now firmly made up, Rose rested her head on top of Mello's and let herself drift off to sleep.

Two weeks passed and Rose would only come to make Mello breakfast. Otherwise the two wouldn't see each other at all. It wasn't until the second Sunday that came did they actually speak to each other. Rose was coming in to make breakfast when she found Mello face down on the floor in the hallway.

"Oh my God! Mello!" she gasped out. She ran over to him and flipped him over. He was unconscious, so she dragged him over to the bathroom and dumped him in the shower before turning on the water. He groaned out and tried to avoid the water.

"Shit… just stopping like that… God I feel like crap," he mumbled out as he opened his eyes.

"Isn't there something other than drugs and alcohol that keeps you up and running?" Rose asked as she turned off the water.

"Sex, chocolate and violence. I am the definition of the greatest R to NC-17 rated movie leading character," Mello responded before shaking his head to get the water out of his hair.

"That's not something you should be proud of," the young woman said, now soaked from the blonde's shake-down.

"Do you think I like being this way? I really don't. I don't like being addicted to anything other than chocolate, I don't like having to sleep with strangers so that way I don't have to deal with the nightmares of all the people I've killed, I don't like having to kill people, and I hate the taste of alcohol. But if I didn't do these things, I wouldn't be feared or respected," Mello said as he grabbed a towel and dried himself off.

"Why would you want to be feared? I mean, you _are_ a scary guy- but why would you want to frighten people further?" Rose asked as she helped Mello up.

"The more people fear me, the less likely they're going to go against me. I've been feared by people for as long as I can remember. Naturally I became a bully when I was in school. I got what I wanted that way. Thus far there are only two people who aren't afraid of me; my friend Matt and you," the young man explained as they went into his bed room and sat on the bed.

"You've given me no reason to fear you. You've been nothing but nice to me since the moment we met," Rose said as she got up and looked for some dry clothes for Mello. The only thing she could find that wasn't leather was black PJ bottoms that she had bought him when she was at Wal*Mart. "Change out of those wet clothes and get into these. You'll be more comfortable."

"When the hell did I get these?" Mello asked when Rose tossed them to him.

"I got them for you when I was getting all of your stuff. I figured you needed something so you weren't wandering around wrapped in nothing but a blanket in the morning," she responded. Mello started to strip as if Rose wasn't even in the room. "Yikes! Let me leave the room first!" she yelped before dashing out. She could hear Mello's laughter from outside of the bedroom. About ten minuets later, Mello came out and plopped onto the couch.

"These are comfy," he commented when he heard Rose come from behind him.

"Yeah? I hoped you would like them," she said before hugging him from behind. Mello rested his head on the young woman's shoulder as they stayed like that.

"So are you feeling any better?" she asked gently.

"Yeah… I think I passed out there last night. I can't remember much, but what I do remember just sucks. I was feeling like throwing up and I was shaking and oh my god it was horrible. Next thing I know I'm being soaked in ice cold water," he responded as he reached back and rested his hand on the back of Rose's head.

"It wasn't ice cold. You're body is just over headed from the sudden withdraw. It was room temperature. But you seem to be handling this withdraw pretty well," the young woman said as she rubbed her cheek against his.

"I've done this before, just not this long of a period. It was for two weeks, not one month. My goal was originally to go eight weeks without anything, but that obviously failed miserably," Mello explained as he moved his hand from the back of Rose's head to her cheek so he could snuggle her better. The two remained like that for an extended amount of time, but then Mello fell asleep and Rose had to leave.

(Okay, so I had my editor, chaosattractor, write something she thought would work in my story. So that is why it has been changed.)


	5. The Make Over

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 5: The Make-Over

After that, Rose would stay in Mello's apartment from 8 AM until 12 AM that evening. Even when Mello was gone, she would stay there and clean up or read. Two weeks passed quickly, but not as quickly as the blond would have liked.

"FINALLY!!! Tomorrow I am back to my old ways!" He cheered as he crossed off the day on the calendar (which Rose had gotten him at the beginning of the month.)

"You act as if this was a punishment. And won't you get worse if you go back up to your high dose right away?" Rose said as Mello moved her legs so he could sit on the couch.

"Don't know, don't care. This has been one of the hardest months for me since… well, since I can remember," Mello said while Rose put her legs on his lap.

"Self medicating doesn't solve problems," the young woman said as she turned the page of her book.

"What do you do to fix your problems?" the blond asks, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Lots of ways, I go out and do things, I hang out with friends, I have hobbies, I go out and make myself feel pretty, stuff like that," Rose responded, leaving out that she also takes prescription medication- it would kind of defeat the purpose of proving her point.

"Why would you need to go out to make yourself pretty? You look fine by me," Mello said as he took a bite of his chocolate.

"That's the thing, I just look okay. I'm not attractive, I'm not alluring, I'm not stunning, I'm just okay," the young woman said flatly. In a blink of an eye, Mello was on top of Rose.

"You have no idea how attractive you are. Guys won't come up to you and tell you that you're hot because you seem unapproachable. The only thing you need is a little make up and some flattering clothes and every guy will want to take you home," he said huskily. This sent chills up Rose's spine.

"But then again, I would get jealous of any guy that tries to take you. I might just need to beat the shit out of him," he added before getting off and smirking at Rose. She sat there for a moment before regaining her composure.

"Well, are you going to help me get make-up and some flattering clothes?" she asked as she got up.

"Sure. We'll give you a head to toe make-over, starting with a new hair cut," Mello said before grabbing the young woman and grabbing his coat and helmet and dashing out the door, dragging Rose behind him.

It didn't take long for them to get to the salon. Mello kicked open the door and walked in with Rose on his heals.

"She needs a new look and a shampooing," he said flatly. The woman at the front desk nodded before taking the young woman to one of the chairs. She placed the poncho on Rose and the paper wrap around her neck before going over to the sinks and putting her back. Once the water hit her scalp, shivers ran down Rose's spine. This happened anytime she got a shampoo at a salon. Once this was finished, she was taken back to the original chair and her hair was brushed.

"Your hair is so thick and kinky, it's like wire," the stylist said as she caught a tangle.

"Yeah, well, it's naturally like that," Rose said before hissing about her head being tugged by the tangle. After about 20 minuets of getting the tangles out, the stylist took out her scissors.

"So what style do you want?" she asked. Before she could answer, Mello approached.

"Cut it in layers. Make sure to cut it so that way when it curls it'll be a little bit above her shoulders. Give her bangs that still go across her forehead, but have it slant over to her left side," he instructed, showing sort of what he wanted on Rose.

It didn't take too long before Rose's hair was cut and styled. Mello paid and they left. The blond pulled out a clippie and clipped part of her hair back.

"Good. Now we get some make-up and get you over to a beautician to apply it and show you how to do it yourself," he said as they got onto his motorcycle. After that they spent the rest of the day buying clothes, buying shoes, getting some purses and hand bags, getting lunch and dinner and getting nails and toes done. Soon it became dark and Mello drove Rose back home.

"Tomorrow I want to see what you look like in those new clothes and what not. I don't have work tomorrow, so we should do something together," he said as Rose got off and took her shopping bags.

"That would be fun. I'll see you in the morning," she said with a smile. Mello gave her a thumbs up before driving off.


	6. A Date at Home

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 6: A Date at Home

The next morning, Rose was wearing a very nice outfit. It took her a bit longer to get to Mello's house, seeing as she was wearing high heels. But she managed to get there before Mello woke up. She quickly put on an apron and began making an omelet, bacon and a glass of orange juice. She placed them on the table when she was done and took of the apron. She placed it in her bag before sitting at the table. Now she just needed to wait for Mello to wake up. She didn't wait long before Mello came out wearing his PJ bottoms. He looked sleepy until he saw Rose. He walked back into the hall before coming back into the kitchen.

"Excuse me Miss, but I think you are in the wrong apartment. My friend is coming over and she might get jealous of your extreme attractiveness," he teased as he walked into the kitchen.

"Aw… can't I stay a little longer? I made you breakfast?" Rose joked back with a coy smile.

"Well… I guess you can stay," the blond said before sitting in front of his food.

"So do I look attractive enough now?" the young woman asked before batting her eyelashes.

"I don't know… I think you might be a bit too attractive. I might just need to lock you away in a tower to prevent guys from seeing your exquisite beauty," Mello said with a smirk. Rose couldn't help but blush.

"So, Mello… are you attracted to me?" she asked as she watched him eat his omelet. He looked up at her and swallowed.

"What do you mean by that? Am I attracted to you physically? Am I attracted to you emotionally? I need a clarification," he said before taking a bite of his bacon.

"I mean, do you like me? Like, did you like me before I got a make over? Were you attracted to me when I was just normal me?" Rose asked.

"I like you. I've always thought you were attractive, I gave you that make over to make you feel good about yourself," he responded as he finished his food.

"Do you like me enough to go out with me?" she said before realizing what she said. Mello had just gotten up to wash his dishes when she said this. He looked a little confused.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that we've been going out. I guess I never actually asked you to go out with me or said that you were my girlfriend. But now you know," he said as he took his plate to the sink and put it down. Rose was kind of shocked. She didn't really think that she was actually going out with Mello, but then again, she didn't really notice very much.

"Is that why you have me come over all the time and we hang out and all that?" she asked as she got up.

"And why I put up with being drug free for a month and why I took you out on dates and gave you a make over. Yeah, that's why," he responded as he approached Rose and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"This is kind of nice. You're my first boyfriend," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Now I feel special. I am honored to be your first. And I will try my hardest to be the best boyfriend you ever had or will have," he said rubbing noses with her.

"So what do you want to do today, Rose?" he asked with a smile.

"I was thinking of either going out to watch a movie or watching a movie here. Then maybe we can go out to eat or something," she suggested.

"Well, there aren't really any good movies out right now, so how about we watch something here," Mello said as he stepped away from Rose, but keeping his hands on her waist.

"That sounds good. The couch is more comfortable than the chairs in the theater, and this way we don't have to listen to crying children," she said as she rested her hands on his shoulders.

They headed into the living room and put on a movie. They enjoyed the movie together. But about 45 minuets into the movie, Mello's phone rang. He quickly pulled it out and answered.

"Hello?… 'Sup?... Actually I am doing something right now… Are you kidding me?! Damn it, how could you let that happen?! Why the hell do I have to do everything around here?! You know what? I'm just going to head over there and take care of it. Who ever is responsible for this is screwed!" he snapped before hanging up.

"Someone messed up at work?" Rose asked looking up at Mello.

"Yeah. I have to go take care of some things. Who ever interrupted my date is as good as dead," he growled as he stood up.

"You never told me what you do for a living," she said as she got up and turned off the TV.

"I'll tell you when I think you're ready," the blond replied as he grabbed his coat and put it on. Rose came up to him and hugged him before giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Be safe," she said with a smile. Mello nodded and kissed her on the forehead before grabbing his keys and heading out the door. She stepped out and called out to him.

"Do you want me to stay here?" she asked. Mello turned around and smiled.

"I don't know when I'll be back. Stay here for about an hour. I'll call you and tell you what time I'll be home. You can do what you want while here," he said before heading down the stairs.

Rose spent a half-n-hour napping on the couch. She spent the other half hour doing the dishes. She was almost done with them when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rose. It's Mello."

"Hi. How's work?"

"Eh, could be better. Listen, I'm gonna be home in about two hours. How about you pick out a restaurant you want to go to or you could make dinner?" Rose thought for a moment before answering.

"Alright. I'll make dinner."

"Great. I'll see you in two hours," with that, they hung up. The young woman finished the dishes and set the table before starting the dinner.

She was rather proud of herself. She managed to make a very nice dinner (making sure it stayed warm), clean up her mess, set the table, got drinks ready and managed to fix up her outfit and make-up. So she sat in the kitchen and waited. She didn't have to for long though, within 10 minuets Mello came home. She got up to greet him.

"Welcome home, Mello!" she said with a smile. He looked kind of tired, but still happy. He kissed her forehead and ruffled her hair.

"So what's for dinner?" he asked. Rose led him into the kitchen to show her hard work. She then took the covering off of the food to show it.

"Spaghetti with clams. Accompanied by a salad, strawberries and followed by dessert which is in the fridge," she said as she set the covers on the counter.

"Wow! It smells great, Rose!" Mello said as he sat at the table. The young woman smiled and sat down across from the blond.

"So how was work, Mello?" she asked as she took a sip of her water.

"Someone messed up and I had to fix it. But it's nothing that I couldn't handle," he said as he took a bite of his salad. Rose nodded and continued to eat.

"This is really good, Rose. You're a great chef," he continued before taking a sip of his wine. Rose had decided that she didn't want wine, which is why she had water.

"I was in culinary at school last year. But I cooked a lot when I was with my parents," she responded as she cut her spaghetti with some difficulty. Mello quickly noticed and helped her out.

"Thanks, I'm horrible with cutting pasta," Rose said in an embarrassed tone.

"It's alright. You're my girlfriend, and I need to take care of you," he responded as he finished and sat back down and got back to his food. They continued their meal, chatting and laughing with each other. Soon dinner was finished.

"Now it's time for dessert," Rose said as she took the dirty dishes and put them next to the sink. She then pulled out smaller dishes and set them on the table.

"I'm excited to see what you made for me," Mello said with a grin. The young woman smiled and pulled out what was in the fridge. In her hands was a chocolate cream pie with chocolate crust and chocolate curls sprinkled on the top.

"Oh. My. God. It's like… chocotastic!" The blond said with a gasp. Rose smiled and set the dish in the middle of the table. She pulled out a cake cutter and cut a slice for Mello. She set it on his plate before getting herself a piece.

"You are amazing, Rose!" Mello said before running across the table and kissing the young woman on the cheek. She blushed as he dashed back to his chair and started scarfing down his pie.

"Not too fast, you don't want to get a stomach ache now," Rose said with a giggle. Mello didn't seem to here her, that or he ignored her. Soon the pie was completely gone and it was time for Rose to leave.

"Do you have to go? I mean, it's not like you actually have stuff to do," Mello asked as Rose put on her coat.

"I need to clean up the house and get ready for school in the morning," she said before giving Mello a kiss.

"Does that mean you're waking me up earlier so you can get to school on time?" he asked as he opened the door.

"Maybe. I'm not going to make you breakfast tomorrow because it's the first day back. You can make something, can't you?" she asked as she stepped outside.

"Not really…" he responded.

"Well, there are left-overs from dinner. Heat those up and eat them," Rose said before heading down the stairs. With that she headed back home.


	7. An Unpleasant Surprise

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 7: An Unpleasant Surprise

The next day Rose had a good first day of school. She had seen some of her other friends and got to hang out with them. But as soon as school was out, she headed straight over to Mello's apartment.

"Hello!" she called out when she got inside. She got no response. She looked around and found a note:

_Rose-_

_I had to go to work. I probably won't be back 'til late. I have my phone if you need help with homework or something. I want you to call me to let me know that you are here and safe. When I come back, I want to here how your first day at school was. I'll talk to you later._

_Love,_

_Mello_

"Huh. Well I might as well to my homework here," she said before going into the kitchen and unloading her work onto the table. Before she forgot, Rose quickly left a message on Mello's phone telling him that she was at his apartment. Once that was done, she started on her work.

About 2 hours later, Rose finished all of her work and was watching TV. There was a knock on the door, which startled the girl out of her trance. She got up and answered it to find two rather scanky looking women standing on the other side of the door.

"Mello told us to come get you. He doesn't want you here by yourself," one of them said, flipping her hair. Rose cocked a brow, not quite sure what was going on. Trusting these women, she followed them to their car and they drove her over to an abandon looking building.

They went through security and went inside. The two women went into a open door way and started giggling.

"Geeze boss. Just because we're gone for 15 minuets doesn't mean that you have to replace us with Mello," one of the women said.

"Oh, Mello likes it. I mean, he's practically a man-whore," the other woman said with a laugh. Rose was absolutely shocked at what she was hearing. Part of her did NOT want to go in and see what was going on, but another part of her wanted to see what the hell Mello was doing. She peeked inside and wanted to both cry and scream.

Mello was kneeling between a rather large man's legs and appeared to be giving him a blow job. Not only that, but he did look like he was enjoying it.

"He has more experience than you two do. I can't help it if he's better than you two at this," the large man said with a laugh. He soon was moaning and gripping Mello by his hair. Finally, it looked like he had his orgasm and he let Mello go. The blond looked up with a mischievous expression and licked his lips.

"You know you can't resist me," he said, his grin obvious in his voice. Rose backed up and ran for a bathroom she had seen not too far back. She instantly threw up as soon as she got over to the toilet.

"That's not Mello…! He would never do that…!" she sobbed before throwing up again. Once the contents of her stomach were in the toilet, she sat next to it in fetal position as she continued to sob. She heard the door open and the toilet being flushed.

"Is there something I can do to help?" a kind voice asked. Rose looked up to find a different woman smiling sympathetically at her.

"I'm so confused… I feel betrayed, I feel disgusted, I feel sick, I feel horrible… I don't know what to do," Rose explained before sobbing.

"Well, it would help if I knew what was making you feel this way," the woman said as she sat next to the girl.

"I'm Mello's girlfriend. I have never seen him like that. I feel like he's a totally different person, but I know he's not. It makes me feel sick that he would do something like that and then come home and act like nothing happened…!" she continued to sob.

"Oh… Well, I hate to break it to you, but this is the _true_ Mello. He's been like this for more than five years. However he acts around you obviously isn't the real him. What you saw is how he really is, and there is nothing anyone can do to change it," the woman explained, trying to comfort the girl.

"So… he's been lying to me?" Rose asked, sounding terribly hurt.

"I'm afraid so, Honey…" the woman said sympathetically. The girl's eyes welled up with tears and she started crying even louder and harder than before. The woman sighed and stood up. She walked out and shut the door.

Rose didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt horrible even though she stopped crying. There was a knock at the bathroom door.

"Come out. Mello wants to talk to you," a male voice called from outside the door.

"If he has to tell me something, he has to come here and tell me!" Rose snapped, not in the mood to be following orders. There was an annoyed sigh and the sound of stomping footsteps moving away from the door. The girl sighed and held her knees closer to her chest.

Soon, there were fast foot steps approaching the door, followed by a banging on the door.

"Rose, come out now!" Mello's voice snapped from the other side of the door.

"Why should I?!" she snapped back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Why are you acting this way?" his voice retorted, obviously not in the mood.

"How the hell am I supposed to act after seeing you give your boss a blow job?! After everything you said to me about wanting to start over! What were you expecting Mello?!" Rose sobbed, honestly surprised that she still had tears left over. There was no response, but the door opened. Mello looked irritated, confused and hurt.

"You saw that?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"How long do you think it takes to get from my school to here? Obviously long enough to think you had time to suck your boss' dick," Rose said, glaring at the blond through her tears.

"Rose… what you saw… I can't say that I didn't mean it, I can't say that he forced me to do it. But what you saw is how I was before you came into my life. What you saw is how I am when I'm away from you. I'm a horrible person. I don't expect your forgiveness, I don't even expect you to ever want to see me again. But I want you to understand that when I'm with you, I feel like I don't have to be this asshole, I can be someone you are proud to say is your boyfriend," Mello said, not knowing what to do.

"You're not the Mello I fell in love with… you're some other Mello that has the same body as my Mello," Rose said. The blond sighed.

"That may be true, but both Mello's love you, and we both hate to see you like this," he said, sounding hurt. The girl looked distrusting, but she sighed.

"Even after what I saw, I can't stop loving you… I guess the only thing I can do is accept both of you. But it will take me some time to trust the 'true' you," she said, holding up her hand for assistance to get up. Mello took her hand and pulled her up and into an embrace. Rose welcomed the feeling of being in his arms.

"Listen, Rose. I need to tell you everything about the 'true' me, but I don't think we should to it in the bathroom. After we get home, I'll explain everything," the blond said, petting the top of her head.

After a few hours, everyone headed to their homes, and Mello and Rose went back to the apartment. As soon as they got inside, they headed over to the couch.

"Is this going to be bad?" Rose asked with a worried tone.

"It's pretty bad. It might even change how you look at me. But you really need to know, it's really important that you do," he said, taking her hand into his. The girl braced herself for the worst.

"When I was really young, my family died from an accident. I was transferred to an orphanage for extremely gifted children. I quickly became second in line to be the successor to the greatest detective in the world. But before he could choose who would take his place, he died. I refused to work with the first in line, so I ran away to America. As soon as I got here, I knew how to get what I wanted. I starved myself to afford this apartment and to get money to buy all of my leather. I trained myself to look as frightening and dead as possible, I went into the mafia. But the only way I could get in was to screw with almost everyone.

"Soon, I became addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol. The more I became addicted, the higher my ranks got. After the first time I killed someone, I got addicted to that too. But every night the people I killed haunted my dreams. I would have sex with anyone just so I wouldn't have to sleep alone at night. Soon, I practically was the leader. I was respected and feared. But that didn't stop me from feeding my addictions and habits. I almost forgot why I had joined the mafia in the first place. I had dug myself into my own little piece of hell. But then… then I met you. I had forgotten what it was like to have someone be kind to me. You didn't force me to do anything, but you gave me a gentle nudge in the right direction. You made me want to become a better person.

"I wanted you to see me as a person you could be proud to say was your boyfriend. I wanted to keep experience your kindness, I needed to feel like I was wanted for more than just my body, I desired to be surrounded by your love. I know it seems selfish, and it was selfish for a while. But I began feeling guilty for feeding my addictions behind your back. And it didn't help that I tried to drown out that feeling with those addictions. When I would sleep with other people, I would stay up at night and think of how upset you would be at me if you saw how I really was. When I heard that you had walked in on me, I felt terror at the thought of you shunning me… I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you, or even if you'll let me. But I want you to understand that you have made a huge impact on my life and that I am truly sorry for everything I've done," Mello finished.

Rose was in absolute shock. She had never thought of Mello as that kind of person, and yet a part of her wasn't really all that surprised. It took her a little bit to absorb everything.

"I'm so sorry," she finally said. The blond looked terribly confused.

"What are you sorry for? I'm the one who screwed up my life, it has nothing to do with you," he asked, totally confused.

"That's not what I mean. You've gone through so much and it must have been hard. I could have never gone through what you have. You've been doing all these kind things for me to make me feel good, and yet you have this horrible life that you have to deal with too. I was totally oblivious to it," the girl said, looking very sorrowful.

"Rose, before I met you, I was just a shell of a human being. I didn't care what I did to my body, I just wanted to feel good and become successful. You made me realize that my body and life is not so cheap and worthless that I could just throw it away. You made me feel good without the drugs or the booze or the sex. By just being with me, you gave me a reason to come home. You make my life worth while," Mello said seriously. Rose looked up at him and hugged him.

"I won't force you to change the way you are. If you want to be a druggy alcoholic sexually addicted person, I won't stop you. I just want what I think is best for you. I'll accept you for whatever you want to be. But I want you to continue to love and care for me. I don't want you to forget about how much fun we've had together and how much I love you," she said with tears threatening to be shed. Mello held her in his embrace and stroked her hair.

"I can't make any promises, but I want to become a better person for you. I could never forget about you and everything we've been through together. Even if you accept me for who I am, I want you to be proud of me. When I'm with you, I never feel alone," he said, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that for a good while, and before they realized it, they fell asleep there, on the couch, in each other's arms. That night, the faces of those he killed did not haunt Mello's dreams.


	8. Go to School

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 8: Go to School

The next morning, Rose woke up feeling groggy. She looked around, quickly realizing that she was still at Mello's apartment. It took her a bit longer to realize that she had fallen asleep on top of Mello, in his arms. She blushed and looked at her watch.

"Crap! I'm late!" she realized as she tried to get off the couch, but tripped and fell over. Mello groaned and looked at the girl sprawled on the floor.

"What's the rush?" he asked before yawning.

"I am SO late for school! My teacher is going to kill me!" Rose explained as she got up and ran into the restroom to try and make her self look half decent. She then realized that she was still in the same clothes that she was wearing the other day.

"Crap! What the hell am I supposed to wear?!" she groaned. She went into Mello's room in hopes of finding something that fit her. Mello followed her in, still half asleep. He dug through his drawers; he then looked in his closet. He pulled out a girl's school uniform.

"What? Some guys have weird fetishes," he defended when Rose gave him a weird look. "It should fit you. But if not, I have other clothes you can try on." The girl dashed into the bathroom. She quickly changed clothes and went to brush her teeth, but thought about it.

"This tooth brush doesn't have something gross in it, does it?" she asked. The blond went into the bathroom and looked at the tooth brush in her hand.

"You don't want to use that one," he said before opening the drawer under the sink and pulling out a package of tooth brushes. He handed a pink one to Rose. "After you're done, write your name on it. My tooth paste should be okay."

After brushing her teeth, combing her hair and putting on the make-up (that she conveniently had in her purse, she came out of the bathroom to presenting herself to the now dressed Mello.

"Very nice. But shouldn't you take a shower?" he asked, taking a bite of his chocolate bar.

"Do you think I have time?" she asked. The blond nodded before the girl went back into the bathroom. About 15 minuets later, Rose came reappeared with damp hair and re-clothed. Mello was now wearing a jacket and holding to helmets and waiting by the front door.

"You have got to be kidding me," the girl said, looking slightly horrified.

"We'll get to your school faster if we're on my motorcycle," the man said handing his girlfriend a helmet and grabbing his keys. Rose looked at the helmet before sighing and putting it on her head. They both walked down to the bike in a hurried step.

"Do I need to sign you in or something?" Mello asked as he got onto the bike. Rose shook her head, making no move to get on the bike. The blond held out his hand as to help her get on. She took it and got onto the bike, albeit reluctantly.

In no time at all, the two got to the school building.

"We're here," Mello announced, looking back at the girl. She clung on to him like she was stunned.

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" he said with a laugh as he got off the bike and helped her off too.

"We were almost hit by a buss!" she finally said, clinging onto Mello.

"We were fine. I told you, I'm reckless. But I wouldn't do anything that I knew I couldn't handle or didn't think wasn't safe," he said as he took off her helmet. Rose looked absolutely horrified.

"Driving around a buss like that is safe?!" she almost snapped. Mello couldn't help but laugh and stroke her hair.

"I know what I'm doing, I've been doing it for years. Now you need to let go so you don't become later than you already are," he said before kissing Rose lovingly. All her fear and anger sort of washed away with that and the girl went off to school. When she got into the classroom, she was greeted by her friends.

"What are you wearing?" Julia asked, lifting up part of the skirt.

"I unexpectedly slept over at a friends house and I didn't have a change of clothes. This is the only thing that fit me," Rose explained.

"Which friend?" Sage asked, looking confused.

"You know that guy who we redecorated for?" Rose asked as she sat at her desk.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA. You slept over at a GUY'S house?!" Amy asked, sounding extremely shocked. This went on all day…

After school, Rose started to head towards Mello's house, but noticed something before she even left the school gate; Mello was sitting on his motorcycle waiting outside. She walked over to him and took of his helmet.

"You came to get me?" she asked with a smile. The blond returned her smile with a smirked and kissed her.

"I don't want you being alone, so I'm taking you to work with me," he said as he handed her a helmet.

"I'm not gonna see you giving someone a blow job, am I?" she asked as she put the helmet on.

"I can't make any promises. And I want you to do your homework while you're there," Mello said as he helped Rose get on.


	9. Homework Help

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 9: Homework Help

Soon they got to the mafia hide out. As soon as Mello got in, his entire being changed to that of the "true" Mello.

"Hey, Mello. Looks like you brought a little kitten with you," the mafia leader greeted as they entered the main room.

"She may be a kitten, but she's mine. Touch her and die," Mello warned as he sat down on one of the couches. Rose stood in the doorway.

"No need to be shy, sit," the blond said, beckoning the girl to come into the room. She timidly went over to where Mello was sitting and sat beside him.

"Do you have any homework you can work on?" he asked as he grabbed a chocolate bar and took a bite of it. Rose pulled out her binder and looked at her work.

"I'm stuck on math. Can you help me?" she said, turning to Mello. He held the chocolate bar in his mouth as he looked at the work she had to do.

"This isn't hard, it's just long. I'll help you with the basic formula, but then you need to do this on your own," he said as he grabbed a pencil and started jotting down notes.

After about 15 minuets, Rose finished her math homework and started to read her required reading. She had a hard time concentrating, seeing as all of the dialect was in Shakespearian. When she looked up to ask Mello a question, she really wished she hadn't. The blond was currently having sex with his boss. He rode the large man as he sat below the blond. Rose took a deep breath, trying to calm down and not freak out.

"_I will accept Mello for what he is. I may not support his choices, but this is who he is. I can't force him to change…" _Rose told herself as she looked back down at the book. After a few minuets though, she was getting a head-ache from trying to understand what she was reading. She had no choice; she had to ask _someone_ for help.

"Does anyone here understand Shakespearian?" she asked, looking around the room at the people there.

"Mello does. But I think he's a bit busy," one of the girls said before taking a sip of her beer. Not stopping what he was doing, Mello looked over his shoulder at Rose.

"What do you need?" he asked between gasps for breath.

"I don't understand what's being said in this part," she said with a blush.

"Read it to me," Mello panted out.

"_There is no woman's side can bide the beating of so strong a passion as love doth give my heart; no woman's heart so big, to hold so much. They lack retention. Alas, their love may be called appetite, no motion of the liver, but the palate, that suffer surfeit, cloyment, and revolt. But mine is all as hungry as the sea, and can digest as much. Make no compare between that love a woman can bear me and that I owe Olivia,_" the girl read aloud, trying not to look at what Mello was doing.

"This is Twelfth Night, right? Orsino is saying this when he is talking to Cesario about his love for Olivia. He states that… that there is no comparison between the type of love between a man and a woman and… the type that women feel for men... He's basically saying that a woman's love for a man isn't nearly as strong as that of a man for a woman," the blond explained as he became out of breath.

"That's a bit sexist, don't you think?" Rose asked as she looked over the book at Mello.

"I personally think… that a woman has more passion when it comes to love… than a man does. Men are too sexual to… to really have a passionate love," Mello said before the boss grunted and came inside of the smaller man.

"What about you and me?" The girl couldn't help but ask. The blond looked at Rose as he tried to catch his breath.

"My heart burns of love and passion with the heat of the center of the Earth for you, Rose," He said as he got off and grabbed his pants. The girls there all awed with a smile.

"Wow, you can say that after having heated anal sex? I'm impressed," the boss said in amazement. "Not only that, but you can think logically during the sex. You are one skilled bitch."

"Do you honestly expect anything less of me?" Mello asked as he put his pants on. The boss shrugged before grabbing a beer. Rose pulled out another piece of paper and wrote something down.

"I need a signature saying that I've done my homework. Would you sign it, Mello?" she asked as she held up the paper. The blond took the paper and the pencil and scribbled his signature where it was supposed to be. The girl took the paper and put it in her binder before putting it in her backpack.

"Anything else?" he asked as he walked around the coffee table and sitting next to his girlfriend.

"I'm a bit thirsty, but I'm in the mood for hot cocoa," she said after a bit of thinking. One of the girls got up and left the room. About five minuets later, she came back with a mug in hand. She handed it to Rose and went back to her original seat. She smiled and took a sip out of the mug.

"Thank you," she said looking over at the other girl. She nodded and grabbed a bottle of beer and drank it. The cocoa comforted Rose and Mello's embrace made her feel safe. She cuddled into him and let herself relax. Once the mug was empty, Rose fell asleep right there, feeling warm and protected.


	10. Moving Out

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 10: Moving Out

Several hours later, Rose was awoken by a gentle shake awake.

"Rose, we're all heading home. Do you want me to take you back to your place or do you want me to take you back to my place?" Mello asked in a soft tone. Rose rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at the blond.

"I want to stop by my house and pick up a few things, but I want to go back to your place," she said before yawning. The young man nodded and helped her up and out of the building. They then got onto the motorcycle and headed over to Rose's house. Oddly enough, Mello drove very carefully to the girl's house. Once there, Rose went in and filled a bag with clothes, her tooth brush, her tooth paste, her deodorant, some shoes, her shampoo and conditioner, her phone, her favorite pillow and finally her house keys. She came back out with the bag around her shoulder and pillow in hand.

"You're going to have to sit on that pillow," Mello said as he handed her a helmet. She set the pillow on the seat and sat down on it before wrapping her arms around Mello. In no time at all, they arrived at his apartment. When they got in, Rose put all of her stuff in the living room.

"Rose, I've been thinking about something," the blond said as he looked in the fridge for chocolate.

"What have you been thinking about?" the girl asked as she set her pillow on the couch. Once Mello found what he wanted, he went into the living room.

"I've been thinking about having you maybe move in with me," he said as he watched Rose look through her stuff. She looked up at him in question.

"I know this apartment isn't nearly as nice as your house, and I understand that you need your privacy, but you already spend a lot of your time here. If you do decide you want to move in, you have a choice of sleeping in the fold out bed out here or sleeping with me in the bed room. I'd help you with your homework and I won't bring anyone over that you don't want over," Mello explained, putting one hand in his pocket and held the chocolate bar with the other.

"I'll understand if you don't want to, and I won't force you to move in with me. I just think that it might be a good idea," he added. Rose looked at her stuff as she took everything in. He wanted her to move in with him.

"You know I need my alone time, right? Like, I just need time to myself," she asked as she looked up at him.

"I understand, and I'll respect that," he said before taking a bite of his chocolate. She looked back down at her stuff.

"My aunt has been looking for a new house. Maybe if I give her my house, I could move in. But I'd need to move some things in here too," she said looking back up at her boyfriend. He seemed to be glowing with happiness at the news.

"We can make room for your stuff. And I can get some of the guys to help move it all. I'll make sure that you're as comfortable as possible here," Mello said with a grin. Rose couldn't help but smile back.

About two weeks later, Rose's aunt agreed to take her house (so long as she could also have her cat), and she and Mello were packing up everything she wanted to bring with her.

"You're not bringing as much stuff as I thought you would," Mello said as he helped pack up her books.

"I'm also taking some of the furniture, but there isn't much I want to take with me," Rose explained as she took down photos and wrapped them in newspaper as to protect them from getting hurt.

"We'll get the furniture tomorrow," the blond said as he filled up the box with books and taped it close. "Are you going to grab your clothes?" The girl nodded as she put another photo in the box.

"Could you finish taking these down? They're really important to me," she said as she looked at Mello. He nodded and went over to where she was and started taking down the photos.

A few minuets later, Rose pushed out three boxes of what was assumed to be clothes. She then pulled out a larger box.

"Geez, woman! How much clothes do you need?" The blond asked as he took down the last photo.

"Well, I like my clothes. And one of these boxes has my sheets and blankets. Do you think we need to get another drawer for my stuff?" she said. Mello rolled his eyes.

"We probably should. We'll need to make more room, but I think it'll be fine," he said as he picked up a box. "Come on, let's get these boxes into the car." They started loading up the car with Rose's stuff. Once all the boxes where in the car, they drove back to Mello's apartment and unloaded everything.

"So, what have you decided? Are you going to sleep out here on the fold out bed or are you going to sleep with me?" the blond asked as he set the last box in the living room.

"I was thinking that I would try out the fold out bed for a while, and then if I'm unhappy with that, I'll move into your room," the girl explained. "But my drawer is going to be in your room regardless." The blond nodded as he sat on the couch.

"Tomorrow we'll get the drawer and all of your furniture. You put post-its on all the furniture you want to bring, right?" he said.

"Yup! If you don't mind, I'm gonna start unpacking the stuff that can be put away," Rose said as she opened up the box with the books. She started putting all of her book in the mostly empty book shelf, making sure they were all in alphabetical order. Mello got up and started helping out once he saw what she was doing.

"After this, we should put up those photos. I was thinking we should put them in the hallway and the entrance," he said as he moved some of the booked to the higher shelves to make room for the other books.


	11. Sex Talk

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 11: Sex Talk

About 20 minuets later, the books were put away and all of the photos were put up on the walls. The fold out couch was also made with all of Rose's sheets and blankets. After everything that could be put away was put away, Rose started to make dinner. As she put the spaghetti in the boiling water, she felt arms wrap around her and a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm really glad you decided to move in with me. You're really special to me and I enjoy being with you," Mello said into his girlfriend's hair. She smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

"You're really special to me too, Mello. I love you so much and no matter what, you will always have a special place in my heart," she said as she turned to face him, still remaining in his embrace.

"I love you too. You make me happier than anyone or anything ever has," he said, touching foreheads together. Rose leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He kissed her back with love and passion, bringing her closer to him. They seemed to fit perfectly with each other. Before they got any further, Mello pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing is really wrong… it's just that I'm worried…" the blond said, looking kind of guilty.

"What do you mean? There isn't anything to worry about," the girl said with a comforting smile.

"It's just that… I don't want you to be a part of my addiction… I don't want you to be part of _that_ side of me," he said, running his fingers through her hair.

Rose thought for a moment. He had a good point; if they did anything like that, she might be encouraging him to be more of his "true" self.

"Mello, when I turn 18, I want to give it to you. I'd feel more comfortable if it were you than someone else. And I'd feel better if you were addicted to me rather than random strangers. It wouldn't stop your addiction, but at least it would curve it," she said before remembering what she was doing before. "ACK! The spaghetti!" When she looked, the noodles were about three times the size they were supposed to be.

"Damn it… now I got to start all over again," she mumbled as she turned off the fire and dumped all the contents of the pot into the sink.

"Rose… I feel uncomfortable with what you're suggesting. During sex, I'm pretty rough and careless. I don't want to hurt you," Mello said as he watched Rose. She looked back at him carefully.

"We wouldn't be having _sex_. We'd be _making love_. I've heard that they are rather different. Sex is about lust, making love is about passion and love. When the time comes, I want you to remember how much you love me. I want you to pour all of your love into every action you make. I know that's what I'll be doing," she said with a calming smile. The blond didn't look very confident. "I trust you, Mello. That's why I want you to do it," she added. Mello sighed and gave his girlfriend a weak smile.

"I don't think I trust myself though," he responded. The young woman approached him and kissed him lovingly.

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

The next day, some of the guys from Mello's "work" brought Rose's furniture and placed it where it needed to be. After they ate the food Rose made for them, they left to get back to work. Rose unpacked the remaining things that needed to be put away and cleaned up the mess that was made. After everything was said and done, she sat in the kitchen in thought. She hadn't seen Mello all day and she was worried about him. Part of her said that he was concerned about what they had talked about, but she tried to push it out of her mind. She tried to distract herself by doing her homework and cleaning up what little mess was in the house. Before she knew it, it was 10:00 at night. When she was just about ready to go to sleep, she heard the door open and then close again.

She went over to the front of the apartment to find Mello there. She took a sigh of relief and approached him.

"Welcome home, Mello," Rose greeted before hugging the blond. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm sorry I left you alone all day. I just needed to clear my head," he said, semi leaning against the girl.

"I was worried something bad happened to you," she said looking up at her love. Mello sighed weakly before kissing Rose's soft lips.

"I got some gifts for you," he said showing his girlfriend a bag he had been holding. They went into the living room and sat on the couch. When the girl looked into the bag, she found a Nintendo DS Lite, about seven games, and some accessories for the DS. Rose smiled and hugged her boyfriend.

"Thank you, Mello. I'm going to wait until morning to start playing it, but I really like all these," she said. Not long after that, both of them were lying in bed, fast asleep.


	12. Almost Raped

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 12: Almost Raped

The next morning, Rose woke up early to get ready for school. She quietly crept into Mello's room and got the clothes she needed. Then she went into the bathroom, took a shower, combed her hair, brushed her teeth, put on her clothes and then went to the kitchen to make food. She made something quick and easy and ate it quickly. Before she left, she crept into Mello's room and kissed the blond on the cheek, causing him to stir.

"I'm going to school now. Breakfast is on the table," she said softly.

"Have a good day at school," Mello yawned before rolling over and going back to sleep. With a smile, Rose left the apartment and went off to school. It wasn't a very long walk, but because she was up a fair amount of the night, she was very tired. But she soon got to school, and luckily on time.

After a rather uneventful day at school, Rose headed back to Mello's apartment. _"Wait… it's not just _his_ apartment now… it's _our_ apartment," _she mentally reminded herself with a smile. As she walked home, she let her mind wander. Unfortunately, she didn't notice someone following her. When she passed an ally way, she was quickly shoved into it and into a wall.

"Well, hello their, Little Miss. Sorry to bother you, but I'll be needing to take everything you've got," a man said from behind her.

"I-I don't have anything…! You can even check; all I have is some make-up and my ID card…!" Rose explained, very confused and very afraid.

"Well, that's too bad. I guess that means that I'll be having to take something else from you," the man said before licking Rose's neck. Her eyes widened and she did the only thing that came to mind, scream for her life. But she was quickly silenced by the feel of a cold metal gun against the back of her head.

"If you want to walk away with your life, you will keep quiet and cooperate. Understand?" the man said harshly. Rose had no choice but to agree. She felt a calloused hand go up her skirt and rub her behind while the other kept the gun pointed at her head. She wanted nothing better than to run away or beat up this guy, but she was too weak for that. She could feel the man slip his hand into her panties and start rubbing her mound as she felt tears start to run down her cheeks. In an instant, she heard a click and a very loud bang. She screamed in terror, thinking that the man was trying to shoot her, but then she felt the gun and hand leave her body. When she looked, the man she assumed was her attacker was lying on the ground, blood oozing from his head. She then looked towards the entrance of the ally to see who saved her. She could only see a silhouette, but she had a good feeling about who it was.

"Are you alright?" her savior asked as he put away his gun and approached her. She definitely knew who saved her.

"I think I'm okay, Mello," she said in a shaky voice. The silhouetted Mello held out his arms to Rose, and she ran into his embrace. As soon as his arms closed around her, she burst into tears.

"I was so scared that he was going to rape me! I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to die and I was so frightened and, oh Mello! I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here!" she sobbed into his leather vest.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, Rose. He can't hurt you now. I actually was able to find you when I heard you scream. I knew something was wrong and I came right over as quickly as I could. But it's alright now; he didn't actually do anything to you. You're safe," Mello said soothingly as he caressed his loves hair and rubbed her back. He then guided her over to the car he had been driving and helped her into the passenger's side before going to the driver's side. The drive home was quiet with the exception of the sniffles and hick-ups coming from Rose. When they got there, Mello helped her get into the apartment and onto the couch.

"Listen, Rose. I don't want you walking home anymore. I want you to wait at school until I come pick you up. I don't want a re-run of what happened back there. You were lucky that I happened to be driving past; if I hadn't been, that man would have raped you and could have killed you. Do you understand?" the blond explained in a stern yet comforting voice. The girl nodded as she wiped her tears away on her sleeve before she was pulled into a loving embrace.

"I love you, and I'm not mad at you. I'm just worried about you," Mello said as he rested his head on top of Rose's. "When I saw what was happening, I was terrified that I might loose you."

"But how did you know what to do? Why didn't you freeze up like I did?" She asked softly.

"In the job I'm in, I need to be able to think clearly and be calm in those kinds of situations. I can't afford to freeze up or get frightened," he explained.

The rest of the day, Rose did not get up from the couch, she did not do her homework, she didn't even make food. She was in deep shock and could still feel the terror that she had felt when she was attacked. Most of what was needed to be done was done by Mello. While making food, he looked through the medicine cupboard to see if there was anything to comfort the girl. He found ecstasy, cocaine, some bottles of Tylenol and Advil, some herbs he had no idea what they were and a vial labeled "Calm Child". This seemed like something that would work, so he grabbed the vial and looked at the back for instructions.

"_Two to three drops into cup mixed with juice or water._ I can do that," he mumbled to himself as he grabbed a cup from another cupboard and set it on the counter. He grabbed a bottle of apple juice (that Rose conveniently bought the day before) and poured it into the cup before putting three drops of the medicine in with it. He then brought it over to Rose and handed it to her.

"I put that 'Calm Child' stuff in it," he said as she took the cup. She quietly and quickly drank the contents of the cup before handing it back to Mello.

"I'm going to attempt to make some food for us," he said before walking back into the kitchen. He spent a good hour in there before coming out, looking like a mess, with two plates. He handed one to Rose and sat on the couch next to her.

"Sorry if it tastes like crap, I'm not that good of a cook," he apologized before taking a bite of his food.

"It's okay. I don't mind," the girl said before taking a bite of what she assumed was mashed potatoes. "This is actually pretty good. What is this?"

"Mashed potatoes, fried zucchini, salad and beef jerky. It was a good thing that we happened to have some beef jerky in the fridge," Mello responded as he continued to eat. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. After the food was finished, Mello took their plates and rinsed them off before putting them into the dishwasher. He then went back over to Rose and sat in front of her.

"Listen, I'm going to let you be like this for today and tomorrow. But I can't let you stay like this. I totally understand how you feel right now, and I spent almost a month being so scared that I wouldn't even leave my own room. I don't want to see that happen to you. You have school and you have a life to live, and you can't let it pass you by," he said looking her in the eyes.

Rose looked up at him, still looking traumatized.

"I don't want to be like this. It feels horrible. I want to be back to the way I was before," she said with a sigh. Mello nodded and stood up.

"I'm going to give you your space for a while. After that sort of incident, I know you don't want to be touched," he said, shoving his hands in his pocket. The girl nodded before getting up and taking out the bed in the couch. Mello was half way to his room when he heard her speak.

"I still want you to have my virginity. I don't want some guy like that taking it from me." The blond couldn't help but chuckle as he continued down the hall. Before he entered his room he decided to respond.

"When I think you're ready, I'll gladly take it from you."


	13. Meeting Her Parents

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 13: Meeting Her Parents

After about three days, Rose was back in school and catching up with her work. She was being more social with her friends, but always made sure that she went home with Mello. When they got home, the blond made sure that one of the first things she did was her homework. It never took too long for her to do it when she was getting assistance from Mello. Things were pretty peaceful when it came down to it, that is, until there was a phone call from Rose's mother.

"Aunt LuAnn told us that you had moved out of your grandmother's house? What on Earth were you thinking?!" she asked Rose through the phone.

"Mom, that place is way too big for me. Aunt LuAnn has been looking for a big enough house to raise a family in, and Grandma's house has more than enough room for that. Besides, I'm happier here," Rose explained as she cleaned the kitchen.

"Yes, but where is 'here'? How are you affording where you live? What kind of place is it? I need to know these things!" the mother said with exasperation.

"Calm down, Mom! I'm still in LA. I'm living with my boyfriend and he has a job. We live in an apartment and-"

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Back up a bit. Since when do you have a BOYFRIEND? I certainly haven't heard anything about this guy," she interrupted Rose.

"If you are so curious, we can all go on an outing or something and you can meet him," the girl explained as she finished up in the kitchen.

"Well, I need to know something about this guy before I just grab your father and rush over! What's his name? How old is he? What does he do for a living? Does he have a criminal record? Does he hurt you? Does he have an education?" Rose couldn't help but sigh at how prying her mother was.

"His name is Mello, he's 19, I don't know what he does for a living, he doesn't have a criminal record, he would never hurt me on purpose and he is almost as smart as detective L. Happy?" she explained before hearing the door open and close, indicating Mello was home. "Welcome home, Mello!" she called before running up to the blond and hugging him.

"Lemme talk to him!" Rose's mother begged through the phone.

"Who are you talking to?" Mello asked when he heard the request.

"My mom; she heard from my Aunt that I moved out and she wants all the details about who I'm living with," she said rolling her eyes.

"I'm not talking to her," the blond said avoiding the phone completely. Rose laughed and went back to talking.

"He's too tired to talk right now. He needs some down time," she said as she went back into the kitchen to grab a chocolate bar and a bottle of water.

"What?! He's going to have to talk to me some time! If you two decide to get married he has to know who his mother and father in laws are!" Rose's mother whined.

"What's your last name, Rose?" Mello asked when his girlfriend handed him the chocolate bar.

"McKeen," she responded with question.

"Hi Mrs. McKeen!" he called into the phone, causing Rose to laugh.

"There, he talked to you," she said through her laugh.

"That was him?! He sounds like someone with drugs in his system," Mrs. McKeen asked flatly. Rose rolled her eyes and sat next to Mello.

"Mello, darling, do you have drugs in your system at the moment?" she asked cheesily to the man next to her.

"Not at the moment, my love," he said with just as much cheesiness.

"You two are mocking me!" Mrs. McKeen snapped through the phone. The two couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll talk to you later, Mom," Rose said before hanging up.

"She seems like someone who will absolutely hate me," Mello said as he was regaining his composure.

"Well, before she married Dad, she had some really bad experiences with guys. She told me that when I get a boyfriend, she wants to meet him and get all the details on him," the girl explained as she snuggled up to the blond.

"So how do I impress her?" he asked as he threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Meet her and wear something that isn't 100% leather," Rose explained.

"Well, that's going to be hard considering I only have leather clothes," Mello said. This made the girl think a little.

"How about this, we go and get some clothes for you that are a bit more parent friendly. That way you can give my mom and dad a good impression on you," she suggested with a smile. The blond looked like he wasn't really up for the idea.

"I guess I don't have a choice if I want to get on your parents good side," he said sounding very reluctant.

The next day after school, the two went clothes shopping. Mello managed to find several outfits that were more appropriate for a meeting with the parents. The one thing that didn't change was that he refused to buy any shoes that weren't boots or leather. With that one compromise, they managed to get what they needed for the meeting with Rose's parents. Once the outfits were put together and put away, the two went to Mello's work. Rose did her homework while Mello did his… "work"… Some of the girls who weren't doing anything did Rose's hair and nails while she did her work. After all was said and done, everyone went back home. Right as they got home, Rose's phone rang.

"Rose, I want to meet this boyfriend of yours, so let's come up with a date, time and place to meet up," Mr. McKeen said over the phone.

"Alright, that sounds fine. Lemme talk to Mello really quick," the girl responded before putting her hand over the speaker. "Mello, my parents want to meet you. Is there a day and a time you want to do it?" Mello looked at Rose and thought for a moment.

"Saturday, 2:00 PM," he responded before grabbing a piece of chocolate.

"Mello says he is available on Saturday at 2:00. Maybe we could go to a café or something," the girl said into the phone.

"That sounds fine by me. How about we go to that diner that we used to go to all the time?" Mr. McKeen suggested.

"Sounds great. We'll see you on Saturday," and with that, Rose hung up. After she made dinner, the two went to bed.

It felt like the week came and went very quickly, and Saturday was finally there. Mello got dressed in the clothes they had gotten earlier that week and fixed his hair to look more pleasant.

"Ready to go?" Rose asked, peeking into the bedroom.

"Yeah, let's go," the blond responded. And with that, they got in the car and headed to the location they had all decided on. When they got there, Rose's parents were already seated in front of the café.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Rose greeted as she approached the two. She kissed them on the cheek and sat down. Mello nodded towards the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mister and Misses McKeen. I'm Mello," he said shaking Mr. McKeen's hand. He then took Mrs. McKeen's hand and kissed her knuckles. "I can see where Rose got her beauty." This statement made Mrs. McKeen blush.

"So, Mello. What do you do for a living?" Mr. McKeen asked as Mello sat down.

"I am a detective. I am also one of the successors to Detective L," the blond said as a waitress came by and gave them menus.

"My, my! Very impressive! But I would imagine that you would live somewhere nicer than an apartment if you are a detective," Mrs. McKeen said with a smile as they looked at the menus.

"If I lived somewhere nice, it would be easier for people to find me. I try to avoid that seeing as the case I'm working on is very hush-hush," Mello explained, setting down the menu after finding what he wanted.

"So how did you two meet?" Mr. McKeen asked after he found what he wanted. Rose was a little worried about how Mello was going to answer.

"I had been walking home after spending three days working sleeplessly on my case. I almost passed out when Rose found me. She helped escort me home. The moment I saw her I knew she was special and that I wanted to be with her," he said with an expression that portrayed that he was having a pleasant memory.

"Awww… isn't that sweet!" Mrs. McKeen cooed like a little schoolgirl. Soon the waitress came back and took their orders before leaving again.

"You seem a bit young to be a detective. How old are you?" Mrs. McKeen asked.

"I'm 19-years-old. It's not uncommon that detectives are young. L was about 15 when he first became a detective, and my rival is 17 right now," Mello explained. Rose was happy that her parents seemed to like Mello. She sipped on some water as she listened to them talk.

"So, Mello, when Rose gets old enough, do you think you might want to marry her?" Mr. McKeen asked. This question caused Rose to choke on her water. Mello quickly assisted her to try to avoid her getting hurt.

"Maybe… it really depends on how Rose feels about it. I don't want to pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to do. I certainly wouldn't mind us getting married," he said as he rubbed his girlfriends back to comfort her.

They continued to talk to each other, even after the food had arrived.

"Rose, you've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong dear?" Mrs. McKeen asked her daughter.

"No, nothing is wrong. I'm just enjoying listening to the conversation. I mean, we're here for Mello, not really for me," Rose said holding up her hands in defense.

"Well, we haven't really talked to you in quite a while. How is school going?" Mr. McKeen asked with a grin.

"I'm doing really well. Mello's been helping me with my homework and my grades have been going up," the girl said before taking a bite of her food.

"That's good! Have you talked to your friends lately?" Mrs. McKeen asked.

"Yeah, I have. They helped me give our apartment a make over. It was a lot of work, but it was really fun," Rose explained. The conversation continued like this for quite a while. Soon the plates were empty and things were winding down.

"I think it's time we all headed home," Mrs. McKeen said after paying the check.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mello," Mr. McKeen said, shaking Mello's hand once again.

"The pleasure was all mine," the blond said as he stood up. Rose followed suit. After they said their good-byes, they went their separate ways.


	14. The Melt Down

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 14: The Melt Down

One week later, Rose wasn't feeling like herself. She was feeling more achy and sadder than usual, and she had absolutely no control over herself. She didn't really want Mello to know that she wasn't doing so well, mainly because of why she wasn't doing so well. She didn't want him knowing that she actually was taking medication for several different things, and because Mello had been watching her like a hawk, she hadn't had a chance to take her medication. But soon, Mello would find out…

"I'm home!" the blond called from the front door.

"Welcome home," Rose said in a monotone voice. To say Mello was confused would be an understatement.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he went into the living room to find his girlfriend.

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about what a push-over I am," the girl responded. Okay, NOW Mello was concerned.

"What are you talking about?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, there are a lot of things that have happened that I could have prevented or at least affected. For one thing, whenever I go to your 'work', you are having sex or doing something sexual with your 'coworkers'. Then, often times you will confess that you have been doing drugs when I'm not there. And do you know what I do? I brush it off and say 'it's okay Mello. You can whore yourself to everyone in all of LA and do every drug on the planet, I don't mind.' What an idiot I am!" she said, now sounding very passive aggressive.

"Rose… what's going on with you…?" Mello asked, now somewhat frightened.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with _me_?! I'll tell you what's wrong! I have been your doormat for more than six months! I have slaved in the kitchen to make you food! I have held my tongue as I watch you get anal from your boss and heard about you doing God-knows-what drugs! And I can't even tell you not to do said drugs because I have to take drugs so I don't melt down and become mental! _You_ on the other hand, _you_ do drugs so you don't have to face reality! You keep telling me that I have to do well in school and that I can't give up or cave into being like how you are, and yet I don't see any progress in you trying to turn your life around! Now I dare you to even try telling me that I don't have a right to be upset about this! Go on, I dare you," Rose snapped, almost yelling at the blond.

To say that Mello was taken aback would be understating to the extreme. But after a few moments he regained his composure.

"You didn't have to do all this crap for me. If something was bothering you, you should have told me. You said that you would accept me no matter what, that gave me the impression that what I did didn't matter to you. You should know by now that I will try to do what I can to make you happy. As far as drugs are concerned, you're right, you have no right to lecture me about doing this shit when you have to take some pills to make your problems go away. You're just as bad as I am Rose," he said, looking dead serious. What he hadn't expected was Rose's next action. She screamed and grabbed the lamp next to her and threw it against the wall, causing it to shatter.

"You don't know shit, Mello! I'm fucking bipolar! I have fucking depression! I have anxiety that causes me to have panic attacks every fucking week! I can't even focus in class because of my damn ADD! And what's wrong with you?! Oh, yeah! You're fucking addicted to sex and you can't deal with the fact that you have killed countless people because of a stupid title! Have you ever stopped to think that I might have problems too?! Haven't you wondered how the hell I manage to seem so perfect?! Unlike you, I can't just will my shit to go away! I have to deal with them every fucking day of my life! Look at me! This is what happens when I don't take what I'm fucking supposed to! I've been to busy taking care of your sorry ass!" she screamed as angry tears ran down her face and she kicked the coffee table over. Mello backed up to avoid getting injured.

"Rose, you need to calm down," he said, holding up his hands in defense.

"I don't need to fucking calm down! You need to see whom the hell your dealing with! If you plan on taking my dad's advice and marrying me, then you need to see the crap you're going to have to deal with!" the girl snapped before grabbing a book and throwing it at Mello.

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN, ROSE! How the fuck do you expect me to talk to you if you are throwing shit at me!?" the blond snapped before walking around the couch and grabbing Rose.

"LET FUCKING GO OF ME! I'M DONE TALKING TO YOU!" Rose screamed as she was thrown over Mello's shoulder. She continued to scream and kick and scratch at Mello as he walked out of the living room, down the hall and into the bathroom. There, he practically threw Rose into the shower/bathtub. He then turned on the water and let it run over the girl. After that, he walked out of the bathroom and shut the door.

About an hour passed, and Rose went from screaming to crying. When he was sure that her tantrum was more or less over, Mello went back into the bathroom. Rose was sitting in the bath with her knees pulled up to her chest and her body shaking with every sob that wracked through her.

"Are you willing to listen to me now?" he asked as he sat on the floor. At first, Rose didn't answer, but after a few moments, she nodded.

"I didn't know that you were bipolar or that you had depression or any of that stuff. I didn't really think about it because it seemed like you really were perfect. I was also too wrapped up in my own stuff that I didn't even think to ask. And even though I am as smart as I am, I'm really stupid when it comes to relationships. I didn't know that you were truly bothered by what I was doing. But I get it now. And I'm not going to consider you a hypocrite because you have to take medication. You really need that stuff, I don't need the drugs I have," the blond explained as he reached and turned off the water.

"Rose, you've accepted me for who I am- flaws and all. It wouldn't be right for me to not pay those same respects to you. Do you forgive me for what I've done?" he concluded as he looked at the girl. Rose looked up at him, her eyes read and puffy from crying.

"No. I won't forgive you. Not until you actually make a change," she said, her voice horse from screaming. Mello sighed and got up, grabbing a towel and rubbing Rose down. He then wrapped her up in it and carried her into the bedroom. He then opened up his girlfriend's drawer and pulled out what he assumed were her pajamas.

"I accept that you won't forgive me. But starting tomorrow, I want you back on your medication," he said as he set the clothes next to her on the bed. Rose looked at her clothes with achy eyes.

"I need to get changed. You need to leave the room," she said without looking up from her clothes. The blond nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.


	15. Change

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 15: Change

The normal routine was continued the next day. But it took a while for Rose to go back to the way she was before her melt-down. She was more reluctant to doing things, and stood up for herself. If something Mello was doing bothered her, she flat out told him to stop it. Some things Mello actually stopped as soon as Rose said something, but others were harder to stop. But because the blond was who he was, he started to rebel against the girls commands.

"I'm not going to do everything you tell me to," he told her one day. The girl looked at him with a blank expression.

"Do you mean that you don't want to change for the better? Are you happy being the mess you are?" she asked harshly.

"I want to change Rose. But ever since you flipped out, you've been very demanding. Before, you would just nudge me in the right direction. Now you are practically forcing me to bend to your every whim," the blond retorted.

"I'm tired of making suggestions to you and you brushing them off. You've practically been taking advantage of my kindness towards you. So now I'm going to stand up for myself. You are not in control of me. I am going to do what I know is right, even if that means tying you down and flushing all of your drugs and booze down the toilet and monitoring everything you eat," the girl said with a glare. Mello looked back at her challengingly before getting off of the couch and going into the kitchen. He rummaged through the cupboards and came back out with most of the drugs. He then grabbed Rose by the wrist and took her into the bathroom. He then handed her all the bags and vials he had grabbed.

"Do it," he said flatly. The girl was utterly shocked. "One of the first steps to stopping addictions is to get rid of all temptations. But I can't get rid of this stuff, so I'm having you do it. I'm going to stand and watch. I need to know that everything is gone," he explained.

Rose nodded before lifting up the toilet seat cover. One at a time, she emptied each bag and vial into the water. Once everything was in, she flushed the toilet and watched it all disappear into the plumbing. She looked back up to see Mello looking like he was regretting what was going on.

"We did the right thing. We're going to go back to the beginning. I'll by things to detoxicate your body," she said rubbing his arm. The blond sighed and nodded before they left the bathroom. Rose then went into the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator.

"Where did all the alcohol go?" she asked, not seeing any bottles or cans of what she normally saw in the fridge.

"I've been off alcohol for a while now. The only thing we have related to that is cooking wine and rubbing alcohol. Otherwise there is none in the apartment," Mello explained as he sat on the couch. The girl couldn't help but smile. She went into the living room and hugged the blond.

"I'm so proud of you," she said before kissing Mello on the cheek. After that, Rose went back into the kitchen and worked on her homework. The blond decided to make dinner while he helped her with the work she needed to do.

"Do you think that you could teach me how to cook?" he asked as he put a chicken into the oven.

"You seem to know what you're doing," Rose said as she watched him cook.

"Yeah, but none of my food is as good as yours. And when I know how to cook, then we can assign days that we cook. Like, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday you cook. And on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I cook. And then on Sunday we go out to eat," the blond suggested as he started making a salad. The girl smiled and rested her head on the table.

"You seem like you really want to turn yourself around," she said. Mello smiled as he worked on the dressing.

"I need to start pulling my own weight around here. You do enough around here," he said as he set the salad aside and went to sit next to Rose.

"Alright, I'll teach you how to cook. But in exchange, you have to teach me how to drive."


	16. Scars

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 16: Scars

A month passed and Rose had started teaching Mello how to cook, and as he promised, he taught her to drive his car. Once they (mostly) mastered that, they moved on to doing laundry and cleaning up around the house. Some days they didn't do anything because Mello was sick from the sudden withdrawal from the drugs, but most of the time, he bit the bullet and worked through it. Between school and helping Mello, Rose's life was pretty busy. But she knew it was worth it. The more Mello did, the most time she could spend doing well on her work. Not only that, but the more he did, the less he focused on the withdrawal.

All seemed to be going well. Rose was excelling in school, she kept up with her medication, and Mello was getting better about his cravings. Life seemed to be getting better by the day. But one day, Mello didn't come home from work. Rose was used to him coming home late, but it was almost one in the morning. She paced the living room, feeling a panic attack coming on. She imagined all the worst case scenarios that could have happened to her boyfriend, and it didn't help how she was feeling. She kept looking up at the clock, looking to see what time it was. Every moment that passed made her feel worse. When 1:15 rolled around, she finally got a phone call. In an instant she answered.

"Mello? Where are you?" she asked through the phone.

"Rose, I need you to pick me up. I just blew up the base. I'm over in the abandoned theater on the other side of town," Mello instructed. To say Rose was shocked would be an understatement.

"Why the hell would you blow up the base?!" she asked in deep concern. This was not on the list of worst case scenarios.

"There's no time for that! The police are after me, so get your butt over here!" Mello snapped before hanging up.

It only took a few minuets for Rose to drive to the theater. When she got there, she was absolutely shocked. Half of Mello's face and torso were badly burned and his hair was singed to the scalp. She opened up the passenger side of the car and Mello got in. The girl wasted no time getting to their apartment and helping Mello inside and onto the couch.

"We need to clean you up," she said as she went into the kitchen and grabbed their first aid kit, a bowl of cold water and a rag.

"I can't be that bad, Rose. I just have a few cuts and bruises," Mello said as he saw what the girl had brought.

"Obviously you have no idea what you look like right now," she said as she dipped the rag into the water. She went to start cleaning off the ash when the blond grabbed her wrist.

"What do I look like?" he asked darkly. Rose sighed before getting up. She grabbed a mirror and brought it over to Mello. He looked at himself in horror before yelling and throwing the mirror against the wall.

"I'm hideous! Don't look at me!" he yelled, covering his face with his arms.

"Mello, you need to calm down! We need to clean you up so you don't get your wounds infected!" the girl said, trying to move the blondes arms away from his face.

"NO! I'm too ugly! My hair is going to fall out and I'm going to be half bald! I'm going to be deformed for the rest of my life!" he snapped. Rose was far too stubborn and worried to give up. She kept trying to pull Mello's arms away from his face. Suddenly, there was the sound of a snap and the girl felt a burning sting against her cheek. The blond had back-handed her in attempt to make her stop. She let her hands slip from his arm before raising a hand to her cheek.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! I'm only trying to help! Your hair is going to grow back and your burns are going to heal, but you need to get your wounds cleaned! Slapping me was totally uncalled for!" Rose snapped as she stood up. She then stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. Once inside, she grabbed the closest pillow and shoved it into her face before screaming. She could not believe how Mello was acting! He should be happy to be alive, not throwing a fit about how he looks. After a few minuets, Rose calmed back down and went into the living room. Mello was still there, but he wasn't so… dramatic.

"Do you remember what you said to me, Mello?" she asked. "You told me that you would love me no matter what I looked like. When I was plain looking and unflattering, you still told me that I was attractive. Well, you know what? I feel the same way about you. I don't care that you might go bald, I don't care that you are scarred. So what if you look different? I'll love you no matter how you look." The blond looked up at her, the gears in his mind turning.

"Look, I understand that you probably need some time to regroup and calm down, and I'm willing to give you that time," Rose added, hoping that it helped. Mello remained silent for quite a while. Suddenly, he threw his head back and started to laugh.

"It appears that the tables have been turned. You are the one taking care of me and I'm the one who is low on confidents," he said when he was done laughing. "Not only that, but you're using my own words against me." He ran his fingers through his hair, only to pull out the singed hairs. He made a disappointed look. The girl sighed and walked up to her boyfriend.

"Will you let me take care of those burns now?" she asked. The blond nodded and sat still. Rose cleaned off the ash from Mello's burns, tried to cool them off and then wrapped them up. Once that was done, she went to brushing out all of the burned hair. As Mello had predicted, when she was done he was pretty much half bald.

"If you want, we can cut all your hair, that way it'll grow back evenly," she suggested. The blond shook his head.

"I want to keep what hair I have," he said before lying on the couch. "I'm going to sleep here for the night. I've had a big day and I'm too tired to move." With that, Rose left him be and slept in Mello's room.


	17. New Jobs and New Friends

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 17: New Jobs and New Friends

It took quite a while for Mello's burns to heal, but even longer for his hair to grow back. But it did grow back and he looked mostly back to normal. But one thing that didn't go back to normal was the fact that he now stayed at home.

"You can't stay here all day. There has to be something you can do," Rose said one day when they were lounging about the house.

"I'm a wanted man, I can't get a job," he responded before taking a bite of his chocolate bar.

"Well, if you just lie around and do nothing, you're going to get fat and lazy," the girl scolded.

"I'll figure something out," the blond responded. Unfortunately, Mello went back to doing what he did before for more or less the same group. It was basically just new people.

"Mello, seriously?" Rose asked when he told her the news.

"You told me to go out and do something, this is the only thing I can do," the blond said, for once amusing himself with a sweet that wasn't chocolate.

"That's not what I meant. Are you making yourself a disposable mass of flesh again?" the girl asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nope. If they ask that of me, I tell them to fuck off," Mello said, blowing his bubble gum. Rose had to admit she was proud of him.

"No drugs, no alcohol, nothing like that?" she asked. The blond shook his head.

"I'm clean, for the most part. I'm still detoxing. There is nothing you need to worry about," he responded.

"If you take me to work with you, I better not see you doing something bad," Rose said before going into the kitchen.

"I'm making dinner, don't start making it," Mello called into the kitchen. The girl sighed as she left the kitchen.

"I've done my homework, the apartment is clean, and I have nothing to do," she said as she went over to her boyfriend.

"I don't know what to tell you. But I have a few questions," Mello said before blowing a bubble.

"Fire away," the girl said as she sat on the couch.

"What's your ring size?" the blond asked. This was a bit confusing.

"I'm size 6, why?" she asked. Mello seemed to ignore her.

"What's your favorite gem?" he asked as he went over to his laptop.

"Emerald and pink diamond… why?" the girl tried again. She was once again ignored.

"Do you prefer silver or gold?" the young man asked, typing something on the computer.

"Silver. Tell me why you're asking these questions," Rose demanded. Mello did not respond. He typed for a little bit before closing his laptop.

"I'm gonna start making dinner," he said as he got up and went into the kitchen. The girl was getting frustrated. She went into the kitchen and put her hands on her hips.

"Why do you need to know that stuff?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," was all she got. She sighed, deciding that this was all she was going to get out of him.

The next day, Rose came home to the sound of… video game music? Mello wasn't really the type to play video games. She went into the living room to find a brunette man sitting on the couch, playing some video game.

"Uh… what are you doing here?" she asked, kind of confused.

"I'm waiting for Mello to get home. He invited me over and told me to let myself in," the young man said as he played his game.

"And you are…?" the girl asked.

"I'm Matt. I'm Mello's best friend," the man said as he paused his game and looking up at her. He wore goggles and his hair was partly a mess.

"I'm Rose…" the girl introduced, extending her hand. Matt took it and shook it.

"Mello told me a bit about you. It's good that he finally found someone who can turn him around," he said before going back to his game.

"Do you wanna eat something?" Rose asked. Matt paused his game again and looked like he was thinking.

"I think I'm okay for right now…" he said before going back to his game. As those words left his lips, the door opened and closed, signifying Mello had come home.

"Welcome home, Mello!" Rose greeted, going up to her boyfriend and hugging him. He hugged her back and kissed her. He then walked with her into the living room.

"I figured you'd bee here already Matt," he said when he saw the brunette. Matt got up and went over to his friend.

"Long time no see. Do you know how hard it is to find you, dude? I had to go all the way from Winchester to here," he said with a smile. Mello smiled back.

"I imagine you've already met Rose," he said, looking down at the girl. Matt nodded and ruffled Rose's hair.


	18. Engagement

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 18: Engagement

Later, Rose found out that Matt was going to move into the apartment next door so he could help Mello with his work. She didn't mind, Matt seemed like a nice enough guy. When she came home from school and after she finished her homework, she would play video games with him to pass the time. It was definitely nice to have someone to be with when Mello was gone at work. After about a week, Matt practically lived in their apartment.

"Hey, Matt? Could you watch the apartment for me? I wanna take Rose on a date," Mello asked one night. Matt gave a thumbs up before going back to his game. After the two got ready, they went out. Mello treated Rose to a dinner at a fancy restaurant and afterward they strolled through the park.

"Rose… can I tell you something?" the blond asked as they walked.

"Of course! You can tell me anything," the girl said with a smile.

"You are the most amazing person I have ever met. You're kind, compassionate, loving, funny, smart and beautiful. You're more than I really deserve, but you stay with me. The more I'm with you, the more human I become. I value my life more and I've been trying to change to be a better person. As I've told you before, I want to be someone you can be proud of. After I finish what I need to… I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he stopped in front of Rose and looked her in the eye. "Rose, I want you to become my wife." To say the girl was surprised was an understatement. She watched as Mello pulled out a little black box from his pocket and open it up. Inside was a silver ring with a green gem, accompanied by two pink diamonds. Rose started to cry and laugh at the same time.

"I-I don't know what do say! I can't believe this… it's so beautiful!" she said, as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"Say you will be my wife?" Mello suggested with a smile. Rose couldn't help but smile back.

"I'll be your wife…! Forever and ever!" she said before hugging her love. He held her back and kissed her. He then took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. He then looked her in the eye.

"You also need to know now that you are my fiancé… my real name isn't Mello. I'm telling you this because I completely trust you. My real name is Mihael Keehl," he said before kissing Rose's forehead.

"Hmm… Mrs. Rose Annabelle Keehl… that has a nice ring to it," she said with a smile. Mello laughed and took his new fiancé by the hand.

"Come on, lets go home," he said. The two walked home in a comfortable silence.


	19. The Crushing End

**Warning:** Rated M for some sexual content and swearing

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Death Note or any of it's characters. But I do own my own characters.

Chapter 19: The Crushing End

A few months later, the wedding date was set, the wedding dress was made, the invitations were sent out and just about everything was ready. Rose never felt this happy in her life. She was going to get married! And just in time, her birthday had just passed and she was officially of legal age to marry. She and her friends were extremely giddy about the entire thing, and kept talking about what would happen after and what it was going to be like. Mello was just about as excited and was absolutely ready for the wedding. Even Kira couldn't make things bad for them… or so they thought.

"Rose, I need to do one last job. Once it's done, we can finally live happily ever after," Mello told Rose one evening. By this time, she knew he was working on the Kira case, and she knew this was important, so she didn't stand in his way. She was willing to let Mello do one last thing before they got married. They continued to live like fate was in their favor. The fateful night that Mello and Matt had to do their last job. Tonight, Rose was feeling unsteady.

"Please, try to be safe," she said, feeling fear well up in her chest.

"Don't worry. I'll be back at one, I promise," Mello said before kissing Rose. What neither knew was that this would be the last kiss they would share.

At 10:00, Rose watch Matt gunned down on the news. And then at 10:15 she saw the burnt remains of Mello and a church. She felt her heart shatter and all joy drain from her body, only leaving painful sadness. She sobbed that night, and the next day as well. She went to the police and asked for their bodies, wanting to give them a proper funeral. She felt as though she would never be happy ever again as she buried them in the church cemetery.

Rose stood in front of the two tomb stones; flowers in her hand. She had come here everyday for three months. The first tomb stone read "Mihael Keehl, 1989-2010, R.I.P." The second, "Mail Jeevas, 1990-2010, R.I.P." The words were burned into the girl's memory. It was 12 days after her birthday that he had died. She had just turned 18, and a month and one day before that he had turned 20. She could feel the tears stinging at the corners of her eyes. She mournfully set the flowers on the grave and dusted off the tomb.

"Hey you!" she heard someone call. She stood and turned to find a girl no older than her standing about two yards away from her. In an instant, she heard a bang and felt a pain in her chest. Three more bangs were heard, and pain shot into her shoulder, her stomach and her leg. She toppled over onto the grass. As she lied on the ground, she looked up at her murderer, knowing why she was killed. She closed her eyes and let death embrace her. What she didn't know at the time was that on her birthday, four years later, she was born again…


End file.
